Prison, Rescue and Life
by badwolf-27
Summary: This story occours around 4 years after the war has ended. Toph has been put wrongly in prison and it's up to Sokka to rescue her and rebuild what was destroyed in her. This is rated T and is Toph/Sokka pairing.
1. Prison

**Hello! This is my first ever Fan Fiction so I know its not going to be particularly good, but I hope you like it. **

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

**Prison, Rescue and Life **

**Chapter 1**

* * *

Toph was lucky in a way. Her small cage had one wall on the outer part of the prison, which meant that her cell had a very tiny, barred window in the top right hand corner. This meant that during the day she could feel the temperature rise and then fall during the night, semi giving her the ability to count days. So far she had counted the days of her imprisonment to be around 82, but there could have been up to a week more or less from when she was ever taken to a cell where there was no window and she couldn't tell the difference between day and night.

Her cell was made of wood of course; the people who had brought her hear had known that she could use both earth and metal to see. Whenever she was being taken to another part of the prison, guards would tie her hands and feet and carry her, one to stop her from seeing and two because she couldn't walk now anyway. The reason for this was that some time ago they had inserted little splinters of wood into her feet and hands. It had hurt terribly at first but she had learnt to block out most of the pain now.

She was in her wooden cell now. She knew it was night because her skin had goose bumps from the cold and the air smelt different from when it did during the day, slightly fresher. Sleeping didn't come easy to her these days, though she wished that it would. Toph sat in one corner of the cell with her legs out straight and her back against the wall, even though it hurt it was the most comfortable position she could find.

To pass time Toph was going over the events that had happened after they had defeated the Fire Lord. About a year after Zuko had become the new ruler of the fire nation he and Mai had married, the party after the wedding had been one of the biggest Toph had ever attended. Around the same time Sokka and Suki had split up but they where still friends. Then two years after that, just before Toph's capture, Aang and Katara announced their engagement. She had been surprised that it had taken Aang that long to propose, but at least he had gotten there eventually.

Toph was on her way to a shipping dock, to board a boat that would take her to the southern water tribe for their wedding, when she was captured. She didn't really remember much of it, only that she had been hit hard in the back of the head by some sort of flying missile, and then she had lost consciousness. Toph had woken up in this wooden cell with a male voice telling her that she was in The Boiling Rock prison. Toph found out a little later on that that voice had belonged to the warden. She hated that man; he was the one who had ordered her capture.

Toph didn't really know why the warden had ordered her to be captured; she only knew that he was one of the 'rebels' who opposed Lord Zuko and his new way of ruling. He came into her cell almost every day, always asking her questions about the Fire Nation. Asking for information she didn't have. When she wouldn't tell him anything he would order for her to be taken to one of the 'chambers' where they would do things like put splinters of wood in her feet, to try and get her to talk.

She stopped her remembering then, not wanting to recall what they did to her in there. So she pulled herself out of her memories and concentrated on her breathing instead. Taking deep breaths in through her mouth and letting the air slowly out of her nose and for the first time in days she managed to fall into a fitful sleep.

* * *

Toph awoke to an annoying scraping noise in her head. She sat herself up and tried to locate where the noise was coming from. After a few minutes she worked out that it was coming from the little barred window. Listening closely, Toph realized that someone was cutting at the bars. She tried to call out to them, but her mouth and throat where so dry that she could not find her voice. So she shuffled away from the wall where the window was, afraid of getting hurt and waited to see what would happen. After what seemed to her like hours she heard the frame of the window being removed and then the sound of wood being cut. Toph guessed that whoever this person was, they where trying to make a hole big enough to get in. She wasn't sure if she liked this or not. On one hand it could be someone trying to rescue her and on the other hand this might be some crazy new way of getting her to talk.

At least if it was someone trying to rescue her they wouldn't be heard by the guards. They had been coming past her cell less and less these days. When she had first arrived, Toph had been under permanent guard, but they had slowly realized that she wasn't much of a threat anymore. I mean she couldn't even walk now. But if her day count was right then the next guard would not come by her cell until tomorrow night, when she would be given a piece of stale bread and a jug of dirty water.

After a time, the sawing of wood stopped. It was quiet for a few minutes. Toph shifted when she felt the thud of someone landing on the ground across from where she was sitting. She stayed still as the figure moved closer to her. She put her arms up in front of her face in an effort to protect herself. The person grabbed Toph's shoulders and whispered.

"Toph, are you alright?"

"Sokka?" Toph managed to croak.

**Well there you go, hope you liked it. Sorry it's not that long really.**


	2. Rescue

**Well here is the second chapter. I'm hoping that it will be better done than the first. **

Disclaimer: I don't own these characters or the show Avatar TLA.

**Prison, Rescue and Life **

**Chapter 2 **

* * *

Just because Toph was blind, didn't mean that her eyes were void of emotion. In them now, Sokka saw fear, loss and desperation that were all so raw that he had to turn his eyes away. So he looked down at the rest of her, she had large dark bags under her eyes and under all the cuts and bruises Sokka could see that her skin was paler than he had ever seen it. Her hair was filthy and greasy and her arms and legs where practically just bone. Through the rags that she wore for clothing, he could see that she had pretty much no stomach. _This is horrible_. Sokka shifted position and Toph flinched.

"It's alright" he told her, "can you walk?"

She shook her head.

"Ok, just wait there a second" Sokka told her as he walked over to his pack that had been dropped in the corner of the cell. He started to rummage through it looking for something soft. The fact that Toph couldn't walk had put a slight dent in his plans, but at least she was conscious. Sokka pulled a dark brown coat and small towel out of the pack. _It'll have to do _he thought.

"Toph, seeing as you can't walk I'm going to have to pick you up and drop you out of the opening I've made. Ok?"

Toph nodded her head slightly.

"It's ok the drop isn't very far" Sokka said to try and re-assure her. He picked up the towel and coat and pulled himself up to the ledge of the opening. When he had dropped onto the ground on the other side, Sokka spread out the towel under the opening and then laid the coat on top of it, he hoped that it would help cushion her fall slightly. Sokka then hauled himself back up and through the gap in the wall and landed back inside Toph's cell. He walked over to her.

"Toph, I'm going to pick you up now" he told her. Sokka slid one arm under the back of her knees and the other behind her back and picked her up. She was incredibly light and it wasn't that hard to lift her up to the height of the opening.

"Ok, are you ready?" he asked.

Toph nodded her head.

Sokka then slid his arm back out from under her knees and quickly moved both of his arms under hers, so that she was now dangling feet first over the wall. This meant that her fall wouldn't be as far. _Here we go_. Sokka then let her go. He prayed to the spirits that she wouldn't be hurt too much, he hated to see her in more pain but it was the only way that they could escape.

There was a small thud and he heard Toph grunt. Grabbing his pack, Sokka hauled himself up, over and onto the ground beside her. He checked her over and she seemed to be fine. Sokka let out a relieved sigh and opened up his pack; he picked Toph up from where she was sitting and moved her off the towel and coat. He then put the towel into his bag, but not the coat. Sokka also took out a small length of rope.

"I'm going to put this coat on you Toph. It will help camouflage against the rocks of the cliff" he told her while putting it around her shoulders. The rags that she was wearing were a bright red, which would stand out against the brown of the cliff face. So if she wore the dark brown coat, he hoped that it would be less likely that they would be seen.

"I'm going to place you on my back, while we climb down the cliff face" he told her, "I need you to grip onto me with you legs around my waist and your arms around my chest. Can you do that for me?"

"Yes" she croaked.

"Good" he said. Sokka picked her up and carefully swung her around onto his back. He hunched over, so that she wouldn't fall, while he tied the length of rope around her back and his waist. It wouldn't really be of much help if Toph lost her grip on him. But he hoped that it would make her feel a bit safer. Sokka then slipped his pack onto his front so that it wouldn't fall.

"I need you to grip onto me now Toph" he told her. He felt her legs wrap tightly around his waist and then her arms around his chest.

Sokka then slowly lowered himself and Toph down the side of the cliff onto a small ledge. To his left, in-line with the ledge, were some cracks in the rock that he had used for foot and hand holds on his way up. Now he reached over with his left arm, found a hold and slowly moved his left leg over as well. Once he had a firm grip, Sokka reached out with his right arm, placing it close to his left one. Then he completely took himself off the ledge when he swung his right leg over to a hold just below his left leg. Sokka then waited for a break in the wind before he started his descent.

Slowly he scaled his way down the cliff face. It was starting to get light by the time he had made it half way to the bottom. Sokka knew he had to hurry up. Not only because daylight was coming, but Toph's grip on him was slowly getting looser and she was responding less and less every time he called her name.

"Toph stay with me, Ok. We are nearly there, keep holding on" he said to her. Toph let out a small moan in response.

Sokka went back to concentrating on the descent. Soon they were almost at the bottom. When Sokka looked down he could clearly see the small strip of sand that was between the base of the cliff and the boiling water. After a few more large steps down and one or two slides, where he lost his grip. They were at the base of the cliff, Sokka standing on the sand and Toph on his back. Her grip loosened again, Sokka hooked his arms under her legs so that she wouldn't fall. Then he started to walk.

About 200 meters around the base of the cliff was his escape. It had taken Sokka almost a day of bargaining with an Earth Kingdom shop owner, to get a scroll that had come from the (now buried) library in the desert. The price the owner had finally agreed on was 3 whale tooth spears from the Southern Water Tribe and 100 gold pieces. But Sokka didn't care about what it had cost him. For on that scroll had been original design plans for the Boiling Rock prison. After looking over it, Sokka had discovered a weakness in the design, which he would use to his advantage. He found that on one side of the cliff's surrounding the prison there was a large sewer drain. It had been just big enough for Appa. Sokka rounded a corner were a large rock was sticking out and found himself at the entrance to the tunnel. He entered cautiously.

"Appa?" he called.

Sokka heard a large snort. _Good, he is still here._ By walking slowly in the direction from which the sound came, Sokka found Appa. Well bumped into him really. "Good bison" he said, while giving him a small pat on the leg. At first Sokka had been surprised when he had willingly gone into the drain tunnel. After all Appa hated caves. But Sokka guessed that he must have realized the urgency of the situation.

Sokka made sure that Toph was still secure on his back and then he climbed up Appa's tail and into the large saddle. He then untied the rope around his waist and lowered Toph down. He looked at her, she was un-conscious. Sokka decided that for safety reasons he would have to tie her to the saddle, just incase they ran into trouble. He picked her up and moved her to the side that was closest to Appa's head, so that she would be easier to keep an eye on from where he would be sitting. Sokka then grabbed the length of rope and looped it around her waist and then slipped it through one of the gaps in the side of the saddle. He repeated this two more times and then tied a secure knot.

On the other side of the saddle was a sparking candle that Sokka had lit at midnight. Glancing back at it now, he saw that there wasn't much time left till the watch tower shift change. That was when he was going to make the escape. As quickly as he could, Sokka grabbed his bag and jumped down off Appa. Then he pulled a jar out of the bottom of the bag. It contained a mix of ash and brown dirt that Sokka had used for giving Appa a bit of camouflage against the dark colored water and volcano rim. Now he had to re-coat some spots of fur, where the bison had rubbed against the sides of the tunnel. Sokka dipped his hand into the jar and started to work. Once he though he was done, he circled three times just to make sure that he hadn't missed anything. Then just as he was about to climb up onto Appa, there was six loud cracks in a row. _Shift change!_

Sokka jumped up onto Appa's neck where the reins were and looked back to the saddle to check that everything was tied down. All was fine and Toph was still unconscious. Kicking his legs lightly against Appa's head to get him walking, Sokka slowly steered him toward the entrance. Once the bison's head was almost completely out of the tunnel, Sokka leaned down and whispered the words "Yip, yip". At once Appa charged out of the hole in the cliff, as far as he could before the boiling water stopped him. Sokka felt the huge animal bunching the muscled in his back legs before he flapped his tail up then down and took off into the air.

Sokka had to struggle to keep Appa close to the water. The bison was very keen to get back out into the open and into the air. But Sokka managed eventually and steered Appa toward the rim of the volcano. They flew quickly, for they only had a gap of approximately ten minutes between the shift changes in the watch tower. Sokka's heart was pounding so fast he thought it was going to pop out of his chest.

Then about fifty meters from the rim an alarm sounded. Sokka's heart sank for a second, they had been so close. But then he gritted his teeth and whipped the reins, he was going to make sure they made it to safety.

Sokka steered Appa up the cliff face of the rim of the volcano. He was almost over it when he heard several booms. Looking back over his shoulder he saw that the prison had opened fire on them. Large boulders that had been coated in oil and then lit on fire were being hurtled at them with catapults. Sokka started to steer Appa in a zigzag pattern to try and avoid the missiles that were coming closer and closer every second.

The tactic seemed to be working and they were almost out of range when something terrible happened. Sokka felt everything start to spin. Appa had started to fall. Sokka smelt the stench of burning fur. He turned his head and saw that Appa had been hit on his back left leg by one of the fiery projectiles.

"Appa!" he yelled, "Come on, we're nearly out of range!"

Sokka prayed to Yue that the Bison would hear him. After a few long and terrifying seconds Appa pulled out of his falling descent and began to gain height. Sokka whooped and punched the air as they finally made it out of range. He then thanked Yue for her protection as Appa made distance and the volcano became smaller and smaller behind them. They flew for a few more minutes till the ocean was in sight, then Sokka thought it safe enough to let Appa fly himself for a little while. Carefully he climbed up the bison's furry neck and into the saddle. Quickly he grabbed the towel from his bag and went over to Appa's left side. Leaning over, Sokka whacked the smoldering fur with the towel to make sure that all the flames were out. Then he went back to his bag and pulled out a water skin. He poured the water down Appa's back left leg, hoping that it would be soothing.

Then grabbing another water skin, Sokka went over to Toph. She hadn't moved and the ropes were still secure. Opening her mouth with his hand, he poured some water down her throat. She didn't swallow much but he hoped that it was enough to keep her going until they reached safety. Sokka gently stroked the hair out of her face and moved her into what he hoped was a more comfortable position. After re-tying the ropes he hoped out of the saddle and went back to the reins. Pulling with his right arm, Sokka steered Appa in the right direction.

* * *

After almost a day of flying, Sokka's intended destination came into sight. It was a small island. He had discovered it about a year ago. From it, the flying distance to the Southern Water Tribe, Earth Kingdom, Southern Air Temple and Fire Nation was about equal. Around two days to each destination. When he had first arrived there a year ago by boat, there had been no flags of emblems indicating that it belonged to anyone and there had been to sign of people at all. So Sokka had un-officially declared the island to be his.

It was nearing sunset as the island gradually grew bigger. When they were around five hundred meters away form the landing destination, Sokka steered Appa into a descent. The place where Sokka intended to land was a clearing, which was at the opening of a large cave. That cave was where Sokka new they could shelter. He had used it before on previous trips to the island. It was inside a large crack in a cliff face, sheltered from the wind and rain. Sokka made a slight direction change with a pull to the left. Then the ground came closer and with a thump, Appa landed.

Sokka jumped off Appa as soon as they touched the ground. He quickly gathered as much dry wood as he could find and stacked it in a cone shape just inside the cave. He then ran back to Appa, climbed into the saddle and grabbed his spark-rocks out of his pack. Then he went back to his cone-pile of wood and clicked the rocks together near the center, where he had put dry bark. With a small spark, the fire started. Sokka encouraged it by blowing on the smoldering bark lightly. It then caught on and was strong enough for him to leave it. He picked up some near by stones and placed them around the fire to keep it contained.

Sokka then walked back over to Appa, it was getting dark. He clambered back into the saddle and went to where Toph was still lying, un-conscious. He untied the ropes that were holding her and picked her up. She didn't stir as Sokka climbed down off Appa via his tail. Sokka carried her inside the cave and laid her on the ground near the fire. He then quickly went back for Appa. Jumping up onto the bison's neck, he took the reins and kicked lightly with his legs to get him walking. Sokka figured that Appa wouldn't want to go inside the cave, so he stopped him just near the entrance. He climbed up into the saddle, and grabbed the two rolled up sleeping bags that were on the left side. Then he picked up his pack and jumped down onto the ground.

Toph was still in the same place that he had left her, by the fire. Sokka rolled out one of the sleeping bags and laid it next to Toph. He lifted her legs up off the ground and slid them into the warm, fur lined sack. Then he picked up the rest of her with one arm and with the other he pulled the sleeping bag up. Once he was sure that she would be warm and wasn't too close to the fire, he took a water skin out of his pack and tried to pour some more water down her throat. Like last time, Sokka didn't think she had swallowed much.

He then stood up and walked out of the cave to where Appa was. Even though it was pretty much dark, Sokka knew that he had to tend to the wound on the bison's back left leg. If he returned Appa to Aang with so much as a scratch, he knew he would be in big trouble. Walking around to the bison's left side; Sokka reached up and touched the wound with his hand. Appa snorted and shifted his weight.

"I know it hurts, but I need to assess the damage" Sokka said to the large animal. When Appa stayed quiet, he reached up again and started to feel the wound. It was mostly burns, but they weren't too deep.

Sokka went over to his bag inside the cave. He rummaged through it and took out a jar that contained a green colored cream. Aang had given it too him when he had asked to borrow Appa. It was specially made to help wounds heal quicker, though it couldn't be used on humans, only flying bison. Sokka undid the lid and using his had he scooped up a large amount of the cream. He then spread it over the burns and patted Appa's side, before going back into the cave. Sokka grabbed the second sleeping bag and went over to where Toph was. He spread the bag out next to her and climbed in.

He knew that Toph's wounds needed tending too. But it was late now and he was getting clumsy from tiredness. Appa's wound had been simple; it was only burns and needed only cream. Toph's wounds however would need cleaning, coating and dressing. That would all be easer to do when it was light and after he had rested. Looking over at her now, Sokka thought that she looked a little more peaceful. He guessed that she was asleep now rather than un-conscious. He snuggled further into his sleeping bag and eventually fell asleep as well.

* * *

**Yay, second chapter up! Wow that took a lot longer to write than the first chapter. Hope you like it.**


	3. A place to heal

**Thank you for the comments Meerkatgirl13 and BeatricBlack. Here is chapter 3. **

Disclaimer: I don't own Avatar the Last Airbender.

**Prison, Rescue and Life **

**Chapter 3 **

* * *

Sokka woke up and found himself on his back, looking up at the roof of a cave. For a few minutes he studied the stalactites that were hanging down towards him. It amazed him that they seemed to be both plant and rock. For they were solid and hard like rock, yet they slowly grew like plants. He shook his head; he didn't think he would ever understand them. In thinking of rocks, Sokka remembered Toph. He rolled over and saw that she was still asleep. _Good_ he thought _she needs as much rest as she can get._ He sat up in his sleeping bag and looked around. The fire was out and there was a small amount of light coming through the crack in the cliff and into the cave. Sokka could see Appa outside near where the forest began; he was eating the fruit from a wild watermelon patch. Feeding the sky bison would be one less thing he had to worry about.

At the sight of Appa eating, his stomach growled. Sokka frowned; he wasn't sure how much food he had left. Getting up, he went over to his bag and opened an inner side pocket. He found a few pieces of dried turtle-seal meat, left over from his last trip to the Southern Water Tribe. Sokka popped the meat into his mouth, chewed and swallowed. It was a bit stale, but it stopped the growling of his stomach and steadied him. But while he was fine to have left-over and stale dried meat, he knew that Toph needed something freshly cooked. Sokka checked that she was still asleep and walked outside.

He took a deep breath in; the air was clean and fresh. He really loved it here. It was beautiful and calming, away from all the closed rooms of politics and busy, stuffy cities. He was planning to build a home on the flat area above cliff someday. Maybe he would start on it once Toph was better. For that to happen though, he needed to help her get back, physically and mentally, to who she was before she was captured. And that started with breakfast.

Walking into the near by forest Sokka looked around for something suitable to cook for Toph. He spotted a small pond a few hundred meters away and got an idea. Around some parts of the pond were patches of reeds, perfect places for nesting animals. He carefully searched through the closest patch, not wanting to disturb anything. Sokka was about to move on to the next patch when he found what he had been looking for, a rabbit-duck nest. It contained six small eggs; he bent down and making sure that he didn't touch any of the others, gently took out two. Sokka wrapped them carefully in a large leaf he had picked up near by and started to walk back to the cave. On the way he collected some bark and leaves and dug up a few roots that he knew he could use on Toph's wounds.

Once he was back in the cave Sokka put the plant material he had collected into a neat pile away from the remains of the fire and placed the leaf wrap containing the eggs next to it. He then walked a few paces to the right where the pile of left over wood that had been intended for the fire was. Picking up a few different sized pieces, he went over to the circle of stones that had contained the fire. There were still a few glowing embers, so Sokka grabbed some dry leaves and small twigs from outside and placed them in the small stone circle. He blew on the remaining embers, which caused them to catch with the leaves and twigs. Quickly, before the fire chewed up the material he had given it and went out, Sokka stacked the pieces of wood in a cone shape angled low enough so that the fire could catch the bits of scrappy bark that still clung to the wood. Satisfied with his work, he went out side to where Appa was and climbed into the saddle. Tied to one side was a small metal cooking pan that he had bought on his last visit to the Fire Nation. Sokka un-tied it and went back to the fire.

Opening the leaf wrap, he lifted out the two eggs and cracked them into the pan. He then sat down on a rock that he had brought into the cave after retrieving the metal pan from Appa and began to cook them. They smelt so good, he wished that he could have just one but he knew that Toph needed them more than he did. When they were almost cooked Sokka felt a prickling sensation on the back of his neck. He cautiously placed the pan on the sandy ground and turned around to see Toph's sightless eyes staring tight at him.

"Toph, you're awake!" he exclaimed.

She blinked at him in response. Sokka guessed that either her throat was too dry or she was in too much pain to talk. He went over to her and she tried to sit up, he quickly helped her out of her sleeping bag and into a sitting position. Going back over to where he had left the pan on the ground, Sokka used a thin flat stone to scoop out one of the eggs onto the large leaf that he had wrapped them in earlier. Sokka then held the leaf out in front of Toph.

"Toph, you need to eat" he told her, "I've just cooked this rabbit-duck egg, so it's nice and fresh and warm"

She didn't take the leaf from him; instead there was a small movement in her lap. Sokka looked down and saw that she had turned her hands so that her palms were facing up at him. They were swollen and bloody from where the wood splinters had been inserted. There was no way that she could use them to eat. _I'll have to help her_, he thought. Sokka sat down in front of her cross legged and used his hands to tear the cooked egg into small pieces that Toph would be able to eat.

Picking up a small piece, Sokka told her to open her mouth and he placed the food on her tongue. She chewed slowly and when she swallowed a pained expression crossed her face but it left almost as quickly as it had come. He then gave her a second piece and she chewed it and swallowed. Soon Toph had successfully eaten four pieces and Sokka was about to giver her a fifth when she made a strange face. Sokka quickly moved to her side and pulled back her hair as she vomited up the contents of her stomach onto the ground. He rubbed small light circles on her back while she recovered and then picked up a water skin and helped her have a small drink. Sokka sighed; he would obviously need to help Toph build up her appetite over time. The drink of water had obviously helped sooth her throat because he heard her whisper a thank you.

"That's Ok, sorry that you couldn't keep you food down" he said

"It's not you're fault" she told him. Her voice was a bit scratchy but Sokka was just glad that she was talking.

He decided that now she was feeling a little better, it would be a good time to start on her wounds. Toph didn't protest as he picked her up and put her on the sandy floor, so that he could pick up her sleeping bag. He took it over to the pile of leaves, bark and roots. He was going to use the bag to carry them. Putting it down flat on the ground, Sokka put a line of bark across the width and rolled it up. He then did this with all the bark, then the leaves and then the roots until the whole sack was rolled up. Sokka tied it with a length of rope from his bag and also grabbed the small towel. Then he walked back over to where Toph was sitting and gently placed the towel and sleeping bag in her lap. Sokka kneeled down and put one arm under her legs and the other on her lower back and lifted her up. As he walked outside, Toph asked him where they were.

"On a deserted island" he told her. She frowned and stayed silent while he walked into the forest. Sokka's intended destination was only a short walk away. When they were about half way there Toph spoke again.

"Sokka" she said in a questioning tone.

"Yes?"

"Where are we going?"

"To a place where we can get you're wounds fixed up"

"Somehow I doubt that there are any hospitals on you're deserted island Snoozles" she said. With her voice had come back some of her sarcastic humor.

"Wow, it's been a while since I've been called that" he chuckled slightly.

"Yeah, it has….." she trailed off.

Sokka brushed past a large bush and found himself right where he wanted to be. It was a small pool that had fresh water constantly coming into it via a small waterfall and going out of it in the way of a small stream, this movement kept the water healthily clean. It was the perfect spot for Toph's healing process. He could use the water to clean her wounds and the waterfall was only very small so it wouldn't hurt her ears with its noise.

There were dry flat rocks around the pool that she would like because they were in her element and the pool didn't reach them but there were also lush grass patches for comfort. The forest around them would provide all the healing materials he would need. Sokka carefully placed Toph down on one of the patched of grass and went over to the pool of water to wash the ash off the towel. Yes, this would be a perfect spot to help her physical wounds but as for her mental ones, they would have to be healed in a different way. Sokka only hoped that he could figure out that "different" way.

* * *

**Yay 3rd chapter. Sorry it's a bit short, I'll try and make the next one longer. **


	4. Cleaning and Bandages

**Chapter four is here, sorry it took me so long but school has just started up again. This is the first chapter where I have done the points of view from two people rather than just one, so I hope it makes sense. Please read and enjoy. **

Disclaimer: I don't own Avatar the Last Airbender

**Prison, Rescue and Life **

**Chapter 4 **

* * *

Toph knew that this was necessary and she hoped that it wouldn't hurt as much as she thought it was going to. Currently she was sitting on the grass where Sokka had put her down and her back was propped up against a smooth boulder. Her legs were straight out in front of her and Sokka was kneeling down by her feet. He had a mound of mushed up pulp that was made from pieces of bark, roots and leaves, next to him on a large leaf. Toph couldn't see it but Sokka had told her that he was going to use the pulp on her wounds after they were clean, it would help them heal. On his other side he also had a wet towel. She knew it was wet because she had heard Sokka washing it in the pool of water that was near by and her sensitive ears had heard the drops of water hitting the ground as he had come back over to her. She assumed that he was going to use it to help in cleaning her up. Sokka's voice pulled her out of her thinking.

"Ok Toph. This is going to hurt and sting and probably be sore afterwards"

"Is that meant to comfort me?" she asked sarcastically

"No, I'm just warning you. It will get better though" he promised

_I hope so_, she thought.

"I'm going to start with you're feet and go from there" Sokka told her.

Once she had nodded he started. Gently he took her right foot in his hands and lifted it up off the ground. She could felt him study it for a moment and she guessed that he was thinking about the best way to remove the wooden splinters.

"Toph, I think that removing the splinters from you're hands and feet are going to cause the most pain" Sokka stated. She felt a surge of frustration, _of course they where going to hurt!_

"Well just do it already!" she snapped at him. Sokka was silent.

"Sorry" she apologized, "I'm just scared, that's all" _What? You're scared? Since when did you admit something like that to anyone? _Toph thought._ Since you nearly rotted to death in prison, _she answered herself.

"That's Ok" he said, "are you ready?"

She sighed. "As ready as I'll ever be"

Toph felt him place her foot back on the ground and then heard him wipe his hands on the towel. Then he gently picked her foot back up and put it on his lap. She screwed her eyes up, it wouldn't make a difference but it was a natural reaction. She dully felt the pressure of Sokka's fingers gripping the wood. He quickly but carefully took out two pieces at the same time. Toph bit down hard on her lip, causing it to bleed. Before her foot had just been throbbing painfully, now it felt as if it was on fire.

But she refused to cry out as Sokka kept working and seemed like every piece he took out caused the fire in her foot to get hotter and hotter and it was slowly spreading up her leg. As it went on Toph felt something wet and warm slide down her cheek and stop at her lips, it tasted salty. A tear? Sokka had obviously sensed that something was wrong because he stopped and asked if he should keep going. Toph nodded, she wasn't going to give up now.

"Well before I start again I'm getting you something to bite down on" he said. Sokka must have noticed the blood pooling around her lip where she was biting it. Toph heard a clink as he dropped the last splinter he had pulled out onto the pile that was slowly growing bigger. She heard his feet hit the ground with a thud from each step he took. She wasn't sure where he was going at first but when she heard rustling she assumed he was heading back into the forest. Toph didn't want to be left alone, especially now when she was truly blind. But before she had time to call out Sokka was back.

He knelt down near where her boulder was and told her to open her mouth. When she did so, Sokka placed something chewy but hard in her mouth. He told her that it was a stick wrapped in bark from a rubber-chew tree. Toph nodded her thanks in the general direction that she thought he was in and re-arranged the stick in her mouth with her tongue, so that it was in a more comfortable position. She felt pressure on her foot once more as Sokka prepared to pull out the last remaining pieces in her right foot. Toph bit down hard on her stick as he began, she hoped that it would all be over soon.

* * *

Sokka pulled out the last piece of wooden splinter from Toph's right foot. He cringed as he heard the scab that had formed around it crack and saw the blood start to run down her foot and add to the growing red stain on his lap. Now that all the splinters were out, he had to clean the foot a much as he could without causing Toph to much pain, before he put some of the pulp on and wrapped it up. Sokka picked up the towel making sure that it was reasonably wet and began. Carefully as he could, he wiped away the blood and tried to remove most of the dirt that covered most of her foot. It took a while but he wanted to do a good job.

Once her foot was as clean as he could get it, Sokka put down the towel and scooped up some of the pulp mix from the leaf that was on the ground next to him and swiftly covered the bottom of her foot in an even layer. He looked up to see Toph biting down hard on her stick as the mix seeped into her cuts and caused them to sting. Sokka turned his eyes back down to his work; he knew he would have to stop looking up at her because if he saw her face covered in an expression of such pain again, he would have to stop.

He examined her foot to make sure that all the worst wounds were covered in the healing pulp. She had a few cuts on the top of her foot but they weren't too bad so he just put a thin layer on the deepest ones and then he wrapped her foot up in some of the rubber-chew tree bark. He had quickly ripped off several large pieces of it when he had been making Toph's biting stick. There wasn't enough of it to cover all the cuts on her body so he was only going to use it on her hands, feet and the worst of her wounds.

It was midday by the time Sokka had cleaned and wrapped Toph's left foot and both of her hands. He was exhausted and he could tell that Toph was as well, she didn't flinch anymore when he put the stinging pulp on her cuts and her eyelids were drooping slightly. He had known that Toph's hands and feet were going to be the hardest work but it still surprised him how tired he was. But at least they were out of the way now and he could move on to the wounds on her body. There was a problem though, Toph still had her red over-clothing on and it would be difficult to clean and bandage with the cloth getting in the way all the time.

"Toph, are you wearing under-clothes?" he asked her. She turned her head in his direction.

"Yes" she replied, "Why?"

"Well I need to take off your over-clothes, to make it easier to clean and bandage the wounds on your body" he told her, "Would that be Ok?"

"Anything to get this over and done with quicker" she said simply.

Sokka moved over to the boulder that Toph was leaning against. He asked her to lift up her arms and he took off her top, she was wearing a small undershirt that covered her chest. Looking down at her, Sokka had to stop himself from gasping when he saw her stomach. Across it was a large gash that went up from her left hip to the point where the ribs started on her right side. It ran just under her belly button and was scabbed over but was bleeding in places where it had cracked. Sokka could only imagine how painful it must have been. Seeing it pushed him over the edge, he decided that once he had finished he would write a letter to Zuko telling him about what had happened to Toph. He would attach some of the wooden splinters to the note as evidence. Hopefully Zuko would look into the issue and he might even discover other people that have been imprisoned wrongly.

Though to send a letter he would have to find Hawkey. Last time he had visited the island; his messenger bird had seemed to like it so much that Sokka decided that this should be his home. So he had left the bird here, it was smart enough to feed and look after itself. He hoped that he would be able to entice it back to him by leaving out some of its favorite food, peach seeds. But before he did all that he needed to complete the task at hand.

Sokka put his arm under Toph's back and lifted her up slightly so that he could take off her three quarter length pants. He was careful not to disturb the bandages around her feet. He checked her legs, they were covered in scratches and cuts but none of them were very deep or long. Except on her right thigh where a long zigzag shaped wound ran down from the bottom of her undershorts to the top of her knee. He went back over to where the pulp was and brought it over to her right side. Sokka gently smeared a good amount of it over the wound on Toph's stomach and then on her thigh.

He wrapped both wounds with the last of the rubber-chew tree bark and gave all the small cuts on her legs, back and arms a good clean with the towel and put the last of the pulp on some of the deeper cuts on her back. Sokka then walked over to the pool of water and washed the towel and wiped the sweat off his face. He flipped the towel over to the clean side and crouched down next to Toph. He told her what he was doing before he wiped her face and neck clean and hen he sat down next to her.

"Is it all done?" she asked him in a quiet exhausted voice.

"I think so" he said.

"You think so?"

"Well…." He trailed off as he rubbed the back of his neck, "Do you have any wounds or injuries that are covered by your underclothes?"

"No" she paused a moment, "Actually they never touched my underclothes. These are the same ones that I was wearing when I was first captured" she replied.

"So you have been wearing those for two and a half months?"

"Pretty much"

"They'll need a wash then. It's not going to help you get better, wearing dirty clothing" he told her, standing up.

"I have nothing to wear while they are being washed though" she protested.

"Toph, there is no one here on this whole island except for you and me, whose going to look?"

She stayed silent.

"If I wash your underclothes now, then it will all be over. We can go back to the cave and you can rest and then maybe have something to eat later." He reasoned.

"Fine, but you have to promise me that you won't look. Seeing as you will have to remove them for me" she said, weakly waving her bandaged hands in the air.

"Toph, you know I would never-"

She cut him off. "Just promise me"

"I promise" he said in his best truthful, trustworthy voice.

"Alright then, let's get this over with"

Sokka lent down over her and closed his eyes as he lifted her back up slightly with one hand and with the other he took off her undershorts. He tried to be as careful as he could with his eyes closed. When he had taken them down to her knee he turned his back and opened his eyes so that he could get them over her bandaged feet. Sokka closed his eyes again as he took off her undershirt, she lifted her arms into the air to make it easier. Again once he had turned his back to her he opened his eyes.

He picked up her undershorts, undershirt, top and three quarter pants. Walking over to the fresh water pool he told Toph, without turning around, that he wouldn't be long. He didn't have any soap, but he wouldn't have used it if he did because he didn't want to poison the waterway. Instead Sokka picked up a stone that was near the waters edge, it was rough but not sharp enough to tear Toph's clothing. It fitted in his palm well and it would do fine for helping him scrub the dirt and blood from the material. He grabbed her top and started.

* * *

Toph felt uncomfortable for several reasons. The first and main reason was the fact that she was naked. Secondly she was truly blind at the moment which always made her nervous and thirdly her body ached and in the places where Sokka had put pulp on stung terribly. But it did feel nice to be clean and her wounds weren't burning like they had been before. She felt exhausted though, all she wanted to do was sleep. But Sokka still had to finish washing her clothes. Toph could hear him now, scrubbing the dirt off her rags rhythmically. She sighed; he was going to be a while. After months of not being washed her clothes where going to be pretty dirty. She shifted the position of her back on the boulder, trying not to smear the pulp that Sokka had put on her cuts. She closed her eyes and steadied her breathing and tried to get some rest.

Sokka's voice pulled her out of her sleep. A sleep that she hadn't meant to fall into but she had been so exhausted that she couldn't help it. Toph shifted her weight slightly and remembered that she had no clothes on. She felt heat rise on her cheeks, but she trusted Sokka and she knew that he wouldn't have opened his eyes.

"Are my clothes clean now?" she asked him.

"As clean as I could get them" he told her.

"Can I put them on?"

"Well they are still a bit damp, but its getting late and I want to get you back to the cave" He paused. Toph could tell that he was debating the issue in his head. But I didn't take him long to reach a decision. "I'll help you get dressed now and then back at the cave your clothes will probably dry from being near the fire"

"Sounds good to me" she said. Toph heard him put her clothes on the ground near the boulder.

"I'm going to put your undershorts on first" he told her.

She simply nodded her head.

Toph felt him lift each of her feet up as he maneuvered the material around her legs, trying not to touch the bandages. Then once the undershorts were at her knees, she felt Sokka's hand on her back to lift her up slightly off the ground while his other hand moved her shorts into place. Next was her undershirt, Sokka asked her to lift up her arms and he pulled the shirt down over them. Toph felt relieved, knowing that she wasn't naked anymore and she thanked Sokka while he put on her overshirt and three quarter length pants.

"Your welcome" he said.

"So can we go back now?" she asked him.

"Yep, just let me grab my things"

Toph heard him get up and walk around a bit, obviously picking up things that he had left scattered around the clearing. Then he came back to her and put something soft in her lap, it feeling of it on her skin reminded her of the sack she had woken up in this morning. She felt Sokka's arms under her legs and on her back as he lifted her up and began to walk. Toph was glad that they where getting back to the cave. She was tired, sore and even a little bit hungry.

Hopefully the walk wouldn't be too far, it seemed as if every step Sokka took was in time with the throbbing of her feet and hands. The cut on her stomach was burning slightly now as well because of the bent position it was in and the wound on her thigh stung. Now the feeling of leaves and twigs brushing past her skin told Toph that they had exited the clearing and were in the forest, she wondered how much forest was between the fresh water pool and the cave. She turned her head in the direction she thought Sokka's face was in and asked him how long it would be.

"Not long" he replied.

"How long is not long?"

"About five to ten minutes"

"Is there anything to eat when we get back?" she asked as her stomach growled.

"Well I think that there was one egg left over from this morning. I'll heat it up when we get back, though you might not be able to eat much" he told her.

"I know" she said, sighing. It had felt awful this morning when she had vomited up her breakfast.

"Don't worry; your stomach just isn't used to eating food again yet. We'll just build it up slowly over time" he re-assured her.

After a few more minutes they emerged from the forest and into the sandy clearing around the cliff. Toph heard a soft grunt of hello from Appa somewhere in the distance as Sokka walked towards the cave entrance. Toph instantly felt it when they entered the crack in the cliff face. It was temperature was cooler and the air smelt different, she liked it, it seemed earthy to her. She felt the weight of her sleeping sack being lifted off her stomach and heard it thump on the ground when Sokka dropped it. He started moving around strangely, at first she thought that he was dancing but then she guessed that he was trying to roll out the sack with his feet.

"You could put me down you know" she told him, "It would make it easier"

"You just got all clean. I don't want you to get dirty again on the sandy cave floor" he said.

Just as he finished the sentence, Toph felt herself being lowered and then placed on the soft material. She tried to settle into a comfortable sitting position and attempted and failed to cross her legs._ Damn bandages_. So instead she stretched her legs out straight over the sleeping sack and waited while Sokka re-started the fire and heated up the left over egg. It wasn't long before she had eaten three small pieces of egg that Sokka had torn up for her and was snuggled warmly inside her fur-lined sack. On her right the fire was supplying a nice source of heat and on her left

Sokka was rolling out his sleeping bag. For the first time in a long time she felt warm, her stomach was full and with Sokka by her side she felt completely safe. Toph closed her eyes, said goodnight to Sokka and fell into the welcoming arms of sleep.

* * *

**Wow that took way longer than intended to write. But I'll try to update the next chapter as soon as I can.**


	5. Supplies

**Thank you for all the comments, they mean a lot to me seeing as this is my first ever Fanfiction. Here is chapter five and I hope you like it. Also, sorry its been ages since I last updated but I have had like a billion hours of homework to complete (which is done now, yay!)**

Disclaimer: I don't own Avatar TLA

**Prison, Rescue and Life **

**Chapter 5**

* * *

Over the last two days Sokka had been quite busy. He had cleaned all the dry, dusty camouflage off Appa and re-coated his wound with the cream Aang had given him. Using the brown coat, he had made Toph some more under-clothes so that she would have something to wear while he washed her other set. He had also washed out the jar that Appa's camouflage mixture had been in and used it to store more of the pulp that he would use on Toph's wounds. He had wanted to write and send a message to Zuko but he hadn't been able to find any peaches to entice Hawkey back with their seeds and he didn't have any writing materials either.

Sokka new that he would need to go and get some supplies soon. Appa couldn't live on eating watermelons, Toph needed some more clothes, so did he and they also needed food. While Sokka's own island had a plenty supply of fruits and animals for meat, he couldn't leave Toph every day just to go forage like he had been. There was an island about five hours flying away that had a small market.

After today, when he would change Toph's bandages, he would maybe fly out. He didn't like the idea of having to leave Toph alone for at least half a day but he didn't really have much choice. Sokka had only traveled lightly when he had set off to rescue her and he had needed speed and couldn't weigh Appa down with things like clothes, eating utensils and hay.

At the moment he was collecting more fire wood because they had used up the last of it this morning to cook breakfast. Toph was back in the cave, she hadn't wanted him to leave but he had said that he would be back in no time. She had improved over the last few days, she hadn't gained any weight though, and she often vomited her food back up. But her skin had more colour and that pained expression didn't cross her face anymore at every slight movement that she made.

Sokka had passed the reed pond a while ago and was now getting close to where the waterfall pool was. He would be coming back here later today to change Toph's bandages. He knew she wouldn't like it but it had to be done before he left for supplies.

He arrived at the bank of the stream that ran down from the fresh water pool and into the ocean. He followed it south for a bit, walking in the direction of the ocean. After a minute he arrived at the stepping stones, making sure that the wood under his arm was secure, he stepped onto the stones and crossed the stream.

Sokka set the wood down near a tall tree at the top of the bank. He would pick it up on his way back. After looking around him and memorizing the location he began to walk in the direction of the coast. The point of this trip had not only been to collect fire wood but he also needed some fresh air and thinking time. He was stressed out over the responsibility of looking after Toph and getting her healthy again.

Sokka wasn't sure if he could do it, Katara was the healing one in the group and he was just a warrior. Sure, he had learned many things over the years to do with healing and the types of the plants you could use to assist the body's own healing process. But he wasn't sure if it was going to be enough. The adrenalin of breaking into one of the most tightly guarded prisons and rescuing Toph was worn off now and he was tired.

Sokka's feet had taken him to the southern coast of the island. To his left stretched a beautiful long white beach and he could see where the small stream reached the ocean. To his right the ground rose up to a hill. He could hear the loud booms of the waves crashing against the hard rocks of the cliff faces. They seemed to call to him. His legs started to walk in the direction of the hill. Sokka looked down at his feet as he climbed up the slowly rising ground. The grass beneath them was a lush, deep green and his boots sank into it in a satisfying way.

The wind hit him when he reached the top, it was cool and refreshing. Sokka had always loved the salty taste of the ocean in the air, it reminded him of home. The currents of wind swished and flicked his un-tied hair around his face. He turned his head so that he was facing into it and he saw one of he favorite landmarks. To anyone else it would have looked like a large rock formation that had broken-off pieces scattered around it. But if you blurred your eyes a bit then the lines and cracks came together and the rocks took their true form. A wolf head pointed up to the sky with its mouth open and teeth showing, forever howling its song to the sky. Sokka studied it admiringly, he always marveled at how nature could create its own sculptures that, to him, looked more beautiful than any human artists work.

After taking a few more breaths of the fresh and salty air, Sokka began his walk back. The sun hadn't risen much further since he had left the cave so Toph wouldn't be worried. He hoped. He placed his feet carefully as he made his way down the hill, not wanting to injure himself by falling and walked back into the forest. He re-traced his steps to where he had left the fire wood under the large tree near the bank. Sokka picked the wood up under his arm and hopped over the stepping stones and headed in a semi north-east direction. After about ten minutes he passed the reed pond and then after another 5 minutes or so he was back at the sandy clearing outside the cave entrance.

He quickly made his way inside and placed the fire wood just near the entrance while his eyes adjusted to the darker light. Sokka turned around to see Toph staring in his general direction. He went over to where she was sitting on her sleeping bag and sat down cross-legged next to her.

"Sorry I was gone a little longer than intended" he apologized.

"You smell like salt and really fresh air" she stated.

"Yes, I was near the coast and it was windy" he explained.

Toph merely shrugged, accepting his explanation.

"So, did you manage to hold down your breakfast while I was gone?" he asked.

"Yes"

"That's good"

She didn't say anything.

"Well, today I was going to change your bandages" he informed her.

Toph groaned.

"I know it hurts but it has to be done before I leave"

"Leave?" she questioned in a higher voice, "Where are you going?"

"There is an island about five hours flying away that has a small market. If I change your bandages today then I'll be able to set off in the early morning tomorrow and be back hopefully before dark" he explained.

A scared and worried look crossed Toph's face. Sokka felt bad but they really needed those supplies. He took her bandaged hand carefully in his and put on the most sincere voice he could.

"Toph, I promise that nothing will happen to you while I'm gone. No-one and I mean no-one, not even Katara or Aang know about this island. Nothing is going to happen, your safe here"

She nodded her head.

"I'll leave before you wake up so that I can get back earlier and don't worry about food or anything; I'll re-start the fire and cook you breakfast before I leave" he re-assured her.

Toph waved the bandaged hand that he wasn't holding in the air. "How do you expect me to eat my food like this?"

"Oh, right." Sokka had forgotten about that. "Well I'll still do everything that I said, except I'll wake you up before I leave and we can eat breakfast together and then you can go back to sleep once I'm gone"

Toph still didn't look very happy with his whole plan but it was all he could think of right now. Sokka got up from where he was sitting and went over to the cave entrance and looked outside.

"It looks light enough now to change your bandages" he called to Toph.

"Mmhhmm" she grumbled in reply.

Sokka walked around, gathering up the things that he would need for changing her bandages. Once everything was ready he rolled it all up in his sleeping sack and carefully placed it in Toph's lap and picked her up. He walked out of the cave and headed in the direction of the waterfall pool.

* * *

Toph was awoken by Sokka's hand shaking her shoulder slightly. She opened her eyes, not that anything changed, and started to sit herself up. She felt Sokka's hand on her back helping her. She shivered. Her shoulders had goose bumps from where the skin was exposed to the cold air.

"Morning Toph" she heard Sokka say.

"How early is it?"

"A few hours before dawn" he told her.

"Oh. So you will be leaving soon then?" she asked.

"Yeah" he replied, "But not before you have something to eat"

She heard Sokka move away from her and then come back a moment later. There was a thud as he sat down in front of her. Toph could smell the cooked egg that Sokka had bought over. Her stomach grumbled.

"Sounds like your hungry" Sokka commented.

"I guess"

"Well you better eat up, I should be leaving soon" he said.

"I wish you didn't have to go" Toph said.

"I know, but I promise that I'll be back soon. You will probably be asleep most of the time I'm gone"

Sokka helped her eat her food and she managed five pieces before she told him that she was full and couldn't eat anymore. Toph heard him pick up his bag from over near where the fire was. He then assisted her in getting back into her sleeping bag, so that she could go back to sleep once he was gone, he pushed the hair out of her face as he stood up.

"I'll see you soon" he said and headed out of the cave.

She heard his voice in the distance saying 'Yip Yip' to Appa and then he was gone. Toph was alone again and she didn't fall back asleep.

* * *

Sokka landed Appa in a clearing just on the outside of town. He didn't want the locals making a fuss over the Avatar's flying bison. He just wanted to get into the market, purchase supplies as quickly as possible and then get out. Swinging his bag around to his front, Sokka opened it and checked that it still contained his bag of money. It was the only thing he had bought with him from the island. He wanted as much space in his pack as he could get, so that he had something to carry the supplies in.

Making sure that Appa was happily munching on grass and wouldn't follow him, Sokka set off towards the town. It was a short walk and within about fifteen minutes he could see the market. He approached a man that would have been a bit older than his father and asked him where he could find a guide. The man smiled kindly at him.

"You're looking at one"

"Great!" Sokka said while extending out his hand, "My name is Sokka"

The man shook his hand with a good, firm grip.

"I'm Alandy and I'm the best guide in this town" he said smiling

"Nice to meet you Alandy. How much do you charge for your service?" Sokka asked

"Two gold coins a day" Alandy informed him

"Well I don't think I'll be here for the whole day, but-" Sokka reached into his coin bag and dropped two coins in Alandy's hand, "I need you to show me around as quickly as possible. I'm here to get supplies and I have to leave before mid-day"

"No problem, do you have a list of the supplies you need?" Alandy asked

"No, but writing materials are on it"

"Then that's where we'll go first and you can write down everything you need"

Sokka then followed Alandy around a corner, to where there was a stall that sold writing materials. He waited while the tall man bargained with the seller. After a reasonable price had been agreed upon, Sokka handed over the money and took the materials. Finding a semi flat rock nearby, he wrote down a list of supplies plus a few other things, handed the piece of paper over to Alandy and then placed the left over materials into his bag.

Alandy looked over the paper that Sokka had given him and they set out on the quickest route. They visited about 15 stalls in total and it all took a little longer than Sokka had intended, he couldn't imagine how slow it all would have gone if he hadn't had a guide.

The one store that took up the most time was the clothing stall. Sokka had made the mistake of telling Alandy that he wanted to go there last. He had easily picked out his own clothes and under clothes, but Toph's were a different story. The stall didn't have anything appropriate in Toph's size and so he had to draw, rather crudely, what he wanted. He then had to browse the near-by stores for half an hour while his order was being made. It wasn't a complete waste of time though because he managed to purchase a small model house that looked exactly like the one he had wanted to build on the island.

After putting the small model in his pocket and picking up Toph's clothing order, Alandy helped Sokka to carry all his supplies out of town to where Appa was. Together they loaded everything into the saddle and Sokka gave the guide an extra two gold coins because he had been so helpful.

"Thank you for all the help" Sokka said to Alandy while shaking his hand

"No problem"

"Perhaps I'll come and visit again sometime in the future"

"If you do, be sure to come and say hello" Alandy said with a smile

"Will do" Sokka said while climbing up to the reins

"Safe travel!" Alandy called as Sokka took off

Sokka turned round and waved, also checking that everything was still tied down. Now he could finally get back to Toph, he was worried about how she might be coping being alone again. But at least he had enough supplies to last him quite a while. In fact the next time he had to do a supply run Toph might be well enough to come with him. He smiled at that, everything was going to work out. Sokka relaxed a little into Appa's warm fur and concentrated on his flying.

* * *

**Hmm I wonder how Toph is doing all by herself? Well I'll update as soon as I can!**


	6. Thoughts

**Again, thank you for the comments. It is helpful to know what I'm doing right so that I can try to get less wrong. Well anyway here is chapter six, enjoy. **

Disclaimer: I don't own Avatar TLA or the characters, I only own my idea.

**Prison, Rescue and Life **

**Chapter 6 **

* * *

Toph guessed that it was not long before sunset. There was a warm feeling coming into the cave and falling straight onto her, suggesting that the sun was close to the ground. She sighed and tried to blow some of the hair out of her face. Sokka had been gone for so long and she missed the sound of his voice. It was one of the things that she had found strength in over the past few days. Even though its tone didn't change much, Toph could always hear the encouragement, hope and comfort that she had long forgotten in those months she had spent in her wooden cell.

She tried to roll over to get more comfortable but it hurt too much and she was too tired anyway. Her bandage changing yesterday had been exhausting and almost as painful as the first time that they had been put on. At the moment her whole body throbbed painfully in-time with her heart beats. Although she knew it would get better, like last time and after a day or so her wounds would become accustomed to the stinging pulp and they would no longer throb.

Toph was emotionally exhausted as well. Over the past week she had gone from hopeless and despaired in prison, to feeling so relieved that someone had saved her and then to the pain of getting her wounds cleaned, to the insecurity of being naked even though she knew that Sokka would never have looked. Now though, Toph was back to scared and almost hopeless, she knew that Sokka would come back but it was so hard for her too keep that belief after giving up on being saved in prison. She didn't want to put all her hope and trust into one person for fear of being hurt again.

Some small part of her mind told her that Sokka was the one person she could trust, he risked his life to rescue her and so many years ago he had even given up his beloved boomerang and space sword for her. Toph desperately wanted to listen to this part of her mind that held possibilities which seemed so comforting and safe. But she wasn't ready to trust even herself yet, so she blocked off those thoughts and turned her mind back to wondering when Sokka would get back and what was taking him so long.

* * *

Toph was startled out of her thoughts when she heard a large thud outside. It had been big enough for her to feel. Frightened, all she could do was shuffle deeper into her sleeping sack and try to look small. Hopefully whoever or whatever this was wouldn't notice her, for in her current condition she was at the mercy of anything bigger than Momo really.

But then she heard Sokka's voice and let out a breath that she hadn't realized she had been holding. She felt Sokka jogging towards the cave entrance and she instinctively turned her head towards him. His steps slowed as he entered, _adjusting to the light_ she reasoned. He then made his way over to where she was laying.

"Hey Toph" he greeted her while assisting her in getting up

"Hey"

"Did you end up getting back to sleep?" he asked

She simply shook her head.

He sighed, "I'm sorry" he told her while cupping her left cheek in his hand, "But its ok now, I won't have to do a trip like that for a while now"

Toph wasn't really listening anymore; she just leaned into Sokka's hand. It had been so long since she had last had any contact such as this. It made her sad and she didn't want him to move away.

* * *

Sokka was surprised when he felt the pressure in his hand of Toph's face leaning into him. Maybe she had missed him more than he thought or perhaps it was the first proper human contact that she had received in a long time. That thought made him deeply sad but also even more angry at the people who had done this too her. They had turned the worlds greatest Earthbender and the only Metalbender into this tiny, malnourished and mentally hurt girl who had to rely on him to feed and look after her.

It was such a cruel act and it disgusted him.

Sokka sighed. As angry as he was, there wasn't much he could do about it now except write a letter to Zuko. If Toph didn't need him so much then he would have happily gone back to that prison and killed everyone one who had hurt her, mentally and physically. But that simply wasn't an option.

Reaching up, he cupped Toph's other cheek as well and she leaned into both. Sokka lightly touched his forehead to hers. He had been so worried for her while he was at the market; it was a relief to be back. Breathing in deeply he smelt earth, water and…..Toph. He was surprised that he knew 'her smell', it made him smile and somehow Toph must have felt it because she asked him what he was smiling about.

"Nothing", he said, "I'm just glad to see you"

Sokka told her that he had to go and unpack everything that he had bought before it got too dark to see. Getting up slowly he began to move towards the entrance of the cave.

"Sokka" Toph called

He turned around, "Yes?"

"I'm glad to see you too" she said before shuffling back down into her sleeping sack. Sokka smiled once again and walked out of the cave and over to Appa to start unpacking.

* * *

**I know that this chapter is really short and I'm sorry, but I had to get it out of the way. My holidays are coming up soon so I should be able to get in a few good long chapters by the middle of April (hopefully). Anyway, I'll update as soon as I can. **


	7. Messages

**Here is chapter seven.**

Disclaimer: I don't own Avatar TLA or the characters, I only own my idea.

**Prison, Rescue and Life **

**Chapter 7 **

* * *

It had been around a week since Sokka had gone on his supply trip. Unpacking everything that he had bought had taken him around an hour or so and even though it had caused Toph distress while he had been away, Sokka was glad that he went. Many things were so much easier now. He didn't have to worry about what Appa was eating or whether what he was feeding Toph was good for her. He had bought a large supply of proper bandages for Toph, so that he didn't have to keep using the rubber-chew tree bark. But he kept using his self-made pulp for her wounds. It worked well and most of the small scratches that covered her arms, legs and back were scabbed over now.

However the large wounds on her stomach and thigh would need a longer time to heal properly. Sokka knew that he could heal them but he was slightly concerned about the scarring. If Katara were here then she could fix that easily but he didn't have any Waterbending healing abilities like her. Even though Toph wouldn't be able to see the scars, she would be able to feel them and that wouldn't help in building her back up physically and certainly not mentally.

In this short time Toph had made some progress, she was steadily building up her stomach capacity and had even held a small conversation with Sokka the other night.

"Where are we?" she had asked

"In a cave, on a deserted island" he said to her, slightly concerned, "haven't I already told you that?"

"I mean what is this place called?"

"The island?"

"Yes"

"It doesn't really have a name"

She looked down then, almost as if she thought that she had done something wrong.

"I could give it a name" he said quickly

Toph nodded.

"Why is this so important to you?" he asked

"I've always thought that it was important to know where you are" she told him quietly

He thought that Toph's desperate need to know where she was might have had something to do with being blind but also her time in prison. For there she had been truly blind for almost three months in her cell and even now after being rescued she was still just as helpless.

Sokka was thinking about all this while cooking breakfast. He yelped as the fat in the pan spat onto his arm. In the corner of his eye he saw Toph shift.

"Burnt my arm" he explained

She nodded in understanding.

Sokka scooped the meat out of the pan and onto a small wooden plate. He then used a knife and fork that he had bought at the market to cut it up into bite-sized pieces. It smelt delicious, but being the gentleman that he was Sokka restrained himself and moved over to where Toph was sitting a little way away from the fire.

"Breakfast" he said with a smile

She turned her face up to him and he glimpsed her pale eyes for a second before her silky raven hair covered them. During her bandage change a few days ago he had washed her hair with a soap that he had bought for her, he himself had his own manly smelling soap. But his hair, even washed, wasn't anywhere near as silky or smooth as hers. At first Sokka had thought it was because they had different soaps until he remembered that they were both made from the same products, they only smelt different. So he reasoned that it must be the natural look of her hair. It was beautiful.

Sokka sat down in front of her and placed the plate on his lap. He stabbed a piece of meat with the fork and bought it up to Toph's mouth. She must have felt the heat on her face because she opened up her mouth almost immediately. He gently placed the food in her mouth and she closed her lips as he pulled the fork back. Toph chewed slowly and carefully, making sure that the food was small enough to swallow. They continued this routine until Toph put up a bandaged hand to tell him that she was full. Sokka looked down and saw that almost half of the meat was gone. That was better than yesterday. He picked up his own fork and ate the rest, not wanting to let anything go to waste.

Picking up Toph's waterskin from where it was on the ground near her sleeping sack, he un-did the top and bought it up to her mouth and asked if she wanted any. She nodded slightly and opened her mouth wide enough for the tip of the waterskin. Sokka slowly poured some of the water into her mouth and then waited while she swallowed. Toph had two more mouthfuls before she shook her head, showing that she had drunken enough. Sokka then picked up his own waterskin and drank a few good mouthfuls of the fresh cool water. He then got up and grabbed the dirty plate and cutlery and put them in the washing bag that he had bought. So that next time he and Toph visited the fresh water pool, he could clean them.

Sokka then walked over to the stand that Hawkey was perched on. Last night he had left out some peach seeds near the stand and in the early hours of this morning he had woken up to the squawking of the bird asking for more of its favorite food. He hadn't changed much since Sokka had last seen him, just grown a little bigger.

Now that breakfast was over, Sokka wanted to write up his letter to Zuko. He picked up the new scroll holder and carefully placed it onto Hawkey. It fitted nicely and the bird shrugged its wings to settle the straps in to a more comfortable position. Sokka scratched the back of its neck before grabbing his writing materials and sitting down next to Toph. Even though they didn't talk, he knew that she liked to have the close company. He flattened the long piece of paper on his wooden board and dipped his brush into the black ink. He poised his hand so that it wouldn't smudge what he wrote. Sokka then began his letter.

_To Fire Lord Zuko of the Fire Nation, _

_From Sokka of the Southern Water Tribe, friend and brother-in-law of the Avatar_

It felt strange writing that last bit on his introduction. Sokka still wasn't entirely accustomed to the fact that his little sister was married and that he was related the Avatar. He had only really added it so that his message would hopefully get through quicker. He continued on with the letter to tell Zuko about how he had found and rescued Toph, what had happened since then and how Sokka thought Zuko should investigate into the loyalty of his prison guards and generals. He also asked him to keep Toph's condition and their location a secret, because he feared that any sent help would do the opposite. Seeing as Toph only really trusted one person at the moment, himself.

He signed the bottom of the letter to make it authentic and then put weights on either end of the paper so that it wouldn't crumple as the ink dried. Sokka went over to the pile of 'his' stuff and rummaged through it to find the small jar that contained the wooden pieces that had been in Toph's hands and feet. He shook out five small pieces onto his hand and put them in a small paper envelope that he had made. Sokka then had a few more mouthfuls of water while he waited for all the ink in his letter to dry.

After a few more minutes it was dry enough for Sokka to roll up tightly and place it as well as the small attached envelope into Hawkey's scroll holder. It was quite a snug fit but he managed to get it all in. He fed the messenger bird a few more peach seeds before taking him outside on his arm. The bird's claws dug into him but they did not pierce the skin. Once they were in the middle of the clearing, Sokka whispered "Fire Nation Palace" to the bird before jerking up his arm. Hawkey released his grip and flew up into the air and turned in a north-east direction towards the Fire Nation.

Sokka watched the bird until it had disappeared over the rim of the trees and he could no longer see it. Then he went over to Appa to make sure that he wasn't eating anymore wild watermelons. They weren't bad for him really, but Sokka thought if the bison ate too much he could get sick. But Appa was still happily asleep so Sokka walked around to the large creature's side and checked his wound. It was a bit red but it didn't look infected, he would put some more cream on it in a few days. He let the fur fall back over it and crossed the clearing and entered back into the cave.

* * *

Four days later Sokka was cutting up Toph's lunch when he heard a loud flapping outside. He told Toph that he was going to check it out and she nodded in response. He stood up and ran outside to see Hawkey struggling with a large bag towards him. Within a minute the bird was above him and Sokka reached up to untie the load from the animal's feet. It was heavier than he had thought and so he had to drop it onto the sandy ground. He held up his arm horizontally for Hawkey to perch on and un-did the scroll holder from the bird's back. Hawkey then promptly flew away and perched himself on the branch of a near-by tree.

Sokka used the loops in the scroll holder to hang it on his arm and then he picked up the bag with both hands. It was easer to carry this time and so he made his way back into the cave, where he sat down next to Toph. She turned to him and inclined her head in a questioning way.

"Hawkey's back" he explained

"What is in the bag?" S_he must have heard me drop it on the ground_ he thought

"Not sure. I'm going to read the letter first"

Sokka skipped over the formal introductions and began to read the main body of the message. It was from Zuko.

_I would firstly wish to convey my sincerest apologies to you and Toph for what has happened. As soon as I finished your letter I began an immediate investigation into the running of the Boiling Rock prison. At this moment 12 guards and 3 generals have been captured and imprisoned in a secure location. We are expected to discover more traitors over the course of the investigation. _

_I have sent this bag of money to help compensate for what has happened and also to help with the costs of any medical supplies that you may need. I hope that your messenger bird coped with the load. It seemed strong when it arrived to me, so it should have successfully made it back to you. I complied with your request no to tell anyone about your situation or location except for Mai (you understand that she would tell no one). If there is anything else that you need, you only need to send me another letter. _

It had Zuko's signature and stamp at the bottom. Sokka read the letter out loud to Toph and she didn't seem happy about the apology but she didn't look unhappy either. He got up and hauled the bag over the side of the cave where it wouldn't get in the way of anything and rolled the message back up.

He told Toph that he needed to go and put some more cream on Appa's wound and exited the cave after grabbing the jar of mixture. It took him around half an hour because the wound had needed a quick clean as well. After it was all done, he did the lid up on the jar and headed back. He slowly made his way over to the edge of the cave and put the jar down while his eyes adjusted to the light difference.

Sokka paused, something was wrong. He quickly turned around to check that Toph was ok, only to see that she was gone.

* * *

**My first real cliff hanger :) **

**I'll update as soon as I can.**


	8. Hall of Stone

**I want to say thank you for the comments. It is good to read about different opinions on the ideas and parts of the story. Some of this chapter was inspired by the camp I just went on, so that was interesting for me and I hope it turns out well in my writing.**

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar TLA or its characters. I only own my idea.

**Prison, Rescue and Life**

**Chapter 8**

* * *

Sokka quickly made his way over to Toph's sleeping sack. In the sand near it and leading out of the cave were the impressions of a person who was crawling on knees and elbows. _Defiantly Toph_. Sokka followed them out of the cave. He was beginning to panic, but his logical self reasoned that Toph couldn't have gotten far in her condition and so that would make something easier.

Outside, the trail lead southwest across the clearing and into the forest. He ran over to the edge of the clearing and moved a branch out of the way as he entered the forest. It was harder to make out the trail now that there wasn't a soft sandy floor. But Sokka managed by following the path of slightly pressed ground and the few broken twigs here and there. He kept a steady pace that was reasonably fast but not so much that he would miss anything. There were a few places were the trail ended at the base of a tree and suddenly turned at an angle. _She is crawling completely blind,_ he thought.

Images of all the things that could have happened to her started running through his head and his panic increased. Sokka tried to focus his thoughts and jogged on for about another 30 seconds before the tracks suddenly stopped. He halted and looked around. There wasn't anything there except for the dark green foliage of the bushes and trees. Looking down again he saw that a little to the right of where the tracks ended was a snapped twig with its ends dug slightly into the rich soil. Sokka took a step over to where it was and looked at his surroundings. Again he saw nothing. He sighed and was about to turn back to re-trace his steps when he saw a flash of light green out of the corner of his eye. It was the same green that Toph's new set of clothes had been.

Taking a deep breath and trying to move as quietly as he could, Sokka slowly rounded a large bush. Toph was on the ground, hunched over and leaning with her side against a tree. She was shaking and her breathing was loud and ragged. Sokka knelt down so that he was facing her and he gently touched her shoulder while quietly telling her who he was. She flinched away from the contact and he shifted back a little. Steadying his own breathing, he reached out again and this time put the palm of his hand to her forehead. She shifted again and he pulled his hand back. Her skin had been hot, not the kind of hot from over exercise but the heat of a fever. His heart began to pound slightly faster. She was sick, really sick.

"Toph, we have to get you back to the cave" he told her, "You're burning up"

She shook her head and said something so quietly that he didn't catch what it was.

"What?"

"Leave" she croaked.

"Toph, I'm not leaving" he said, "Please, we have to get back so I can help you"

She turned to face him then. There were tear marks on her face and she was frowning.

"Don't you understand?" she asked.

"I-" he began before she cut him off.

"You can't fix me!" she said almost yelling.

Sokka was taken aback, he truly didn't understand. For the past week Toph had hardly talked at all and now she was yelling at him. What had he done wrong? Everything had been going so well. He opened his mouth but no words came out.

"You should have left me to die in prison" she snarled at him.

Slightly shocked, he reached out and grabbed her arm in an effort to calm her down. But she snatched it back and started to move away from him. Sokka stood up and was about to block off her attempted escape when he saw her eyes start to roll back into her head. He quickly put an arm at her back to catch her just before she fainted.

* * *

Toph was walking down a hall of stone. Her feet were healed and she could 'see' with them perfectly. She could see the stone doors that lined the walls on each side of her. It wasn't cold but nor was it hot. It seemed a neutral place, there was no wind, no temperature and it was silent. Except for the scraping her feet made as they shifted in the layer of sand that covered the hard stone floor. She tried to Earthbend but nothing happened. That was odd, she could see but not Earthbend. The two went together; one couldn't be without the other.

She stopped, confused. Where was she? Who had healed her? Had she been captured again? Toph walked over to the closest door on her right. She placed both hands on the stone handle and hesitated before pushing it open. Once the door was halfway it swung away from her hands and she was hit with such a strong force that she was almost knocked over. Pain filled her body, it was the pain of rejection, of jealously, of physical wounds, of loss, of everything in her life that had hurt her and that she had tried to bury over time. It was all resurfacing at once. Toph stumbled between letting herself be pulled into the room and retreating back to the hall. It was somehow holding her. She took a frightened step back and the hold was suddenly broken. Toph fell onto the stone floor and heard the slam of the door close. She shuffled away from it until her back was against the left side of the hall. She sat there for a few minutes trying to get her breath back. What had that been?

When she could breathe properly again, Toph pulled herself up and walked over to the closest door on her left, hoping that it would lead to an escape. With one hand she gripped the stone handle and placed the other one on the door. Toph took a few more deep breaths before pushing it open. Again it swung away from her hands while she tried to keep her balance. She was hit by a scorching heat. A heat that she had only ever experienced a few times before, when Zuko had burned her feet, during the final battle of the war and when she had been extremely sick as a child and had gotten a raging fever.

Gasping, she pulled the door closed using all her strength. Once she felt the thud of the door against the frame she started to run. She ran for what seemed like forever but the hall never ended. Toph stopped to get her breath and slowly made her way over to the right side of the hall. She was getting desperate now. She opened two more doors, only to be greeted by cool silence.

However at the fifth door she was once again nearly knocked over. This time though the assault was not on her body but on her ears. Toph could hear the screams of a thousand people being tortured and killed. It was like some nights in the prison when it had been impossible to sleep because of the horrible sounds that filled her ears. She could feel wet, salty tears sliding down her face. Toph was not one who usually cried but this was almost involuntary. It seemed that she was crying for everything, for everyone lost in the war, for her parent's inability to accept her for who she was, for what had happened in prison, for the true self confidence that she never really had and for how she had treated Sokka. Toph hadn't wanted to yell at him after all he had done for her but she was trying to protect herself. If she didn't get better then she would just become a burden to her friends, someone who they thought they had to look after all the time. Exactly how her parents had done. Toph didn't want that. But would it have really been better if she had died in prison while waiting to be rescued?

She honestly couldn't answer that question and tears continued to stream down her face as she let her emotions flow out for the first time in years. She stood in the door way for a moment more before she pulled the large stone slab closed and slid to the floor with her back against the wall. She still had many more tears but she could stand the screams no longer. Toph used her clean sleeve to dry her face while she steadied her breathing.

After a few minutes she got up and began to walk at a slow pace. She didn't open anymore doors on her way. She just walked. After all the things she had just felt and heard she was oddly calm. Maybe it was because she had released some sort of pressure after crying or maybe she had just distanced herself from the current situation. Whatever it was though, it felt nice. She felt somewhat at peace. _I must be going mad_, she thought.

Toph had been so lost in thought that it took her a few seconds for her to notice that she had arrived at the end of the hall. Toph stopped walking and stood still in front of the biggest doors that she had seen so far. She placed her hand lightly on the stone and felt that it wasn't a flat surface like the others had been. It had beautiful but confused carvings all over it. She couldn't make out what they were but whoever had made them was very skilled. Her hand found the door handle. She wasn't sure whether to open it or not. After all the previous experiences had not been any good.

But there seemed to be a strange force that was emanating from behind the door. It called to her in an encouraging way. She twisted the handle and the door swung away from her. It was not ripped from her hands like the last times but it seemed to glide gently on its hinges. When it was fully open a warmth came onto her, not the searing heat had been behind the second door, but more of a summer heat. Similar to what she used to get back in her home town. She could also hear voices, not the screams like the fifth door but more soft. It sounded like she was being welcomed. Toph was confused, so far in this strange hall of stone there had only been pain, hurt and misery but now there was comfort and encouragement. Was it a trick? Was she going to walk in and become trapped forever in some place or torment?

Toph turned around, her feet 'seeing' the endless hall that she had come down. She had no desire to go back there. She faced the open door again. She had no idea as to what she should do. For once in her life she actually wished that someone would tell her what she had to do. Toph let out a long, shaky sigh and was about to pull the door closed when she heard something familiar. Sokka? What was he, well his voice, doing here? She listened intently but couldn't make out his words. It frustrated her but his tone was so comforting. If she could have felt his heart beat during that moment then she was sure he would be telling her the utter truth.

Toph found herself taking the step that cause her to be standing right at the edge of the door frame. Then for some reason unknown to her, she stepped into the unknown.

* * *

**Ok, that was an interesting chapter. So let me do some explaining before you tell me that I have written Toph out of character. **

**Ugghh, how can I do this without spoiling the next chapter…. **

**Actually I don't think I can, you will have to wait and find out. Sorry if you didn't like this, you thought that it was out of character or whatever but it shall be made clear in the next installment. It shouldn't be long before I update. It is holidays and I have some time to work on it. So yeah… (Please don't kill me)….**


	9. Wolf Rock Island

**As always thanks for the comments. Here is chapter 9. **

Disclaimer: I don't own these characters or the show Avatar TLA. I only own my idea and writing.

**Prison, Rescue and Life **

**Chapter 9 **

* * *

Sokka sat on the edge of Appa's saddle sharpening his knife. It had been two days since Toph had fainted and she still hadn't woken up. He guessed that her body needed all the energy it could get to battle with her fever. But it still made him anxious. He cared for her a lot and it made him sick to the stomach when he looked at her and saw how weak she was. At least the people who had hurt her were locked up now and they couldn't hurt anyone else. But it still didn't change what they had done to her.

He sighed. There wasn't much he could do about it except try to build back up what they had destroyed and so far he wasn't sure how good of a job he was doing. Sure most of her small scratches were well on the way to being mended and she was eating more. But she had retreated, she had slowly started talking less and didn't respond that much when he talked to her. Then two days ago when she had that outburst of yelling, Sokka didn't know whether it had been because of her fever or if he had left it to long to try and talk to her about what had happened in prison. After all she needed to talk about it eventually, because he knew that bottled up emotions and memories could cause all sorts or issues.

Looking over his shoulder, he could see that Toph was still in exactly the same place that she had been for the past two days. Sokka had bought Appa's saddle in from outside for her to sleep in. He knew that it wasn't that soft but it was better that the cold, hard floor that they had been sleeping on since their arrival and the saddle didn't sap warmth like stone did. She was lying on her back on the opposite side to him. She had a wet cloth on her forehead and she was inside her sleeping sack. Sokka knew he would have to change her cloth soon; it was probably getting warm and dry by now.

He turned back around and kept on sharpening his knife. The motions were rhythmic and consistent and they kept him somewhat calm and relaxed. He continued this for another half hour and then went out to check on Appa. The bison was perfectly capable of looking after itself but it gave him something to do. Because he couldn't exactly wander far with Toph in the condition that she was.

But when he got outside Appa was perfectly fine, as he expected. Sokka was beginning to think that the animal might be getting somewhat bored. He hadn't been flying in over fifteen days and this was a creature that lived for the sky. Sokka jogged across the clearing to where the animal was resting from the mid-day sun in the shade of the forest. He gently stroked the fur between Appa's eyes to wake him from his relaxed doze. With a large grunt Appa opened his eyes and rolled over so that he was lying on his belly. Sokka laughed.

"You're bored aren't you buddy?"

Appa gave a big yawn and blinked a few times in response.

"Yeah I thought so" Sokka said, "How about I let you go for a fly by your self? You can tour the island if you like"

The bison opened its eyes wide and looked as Sokka hopefully. Sokka laughed to himself again before tightening the reins on Appa's horns and then letting him go with a 'yip yip'. He stood back a little as the large creature lifted itself off the ground and into the sky. His steps then took him back towards the cave.

When he was inside Sokka nearly tripped over the large bag of money. _I should really move that back_, he thought. Yesterday, out of curiosity, he had opened the bag to count how much money he and Toph now possessed. But when he had untied the top and looked inside he found another smaller scroll and a smaller bag sitting on top of the gold pieces. The message had read.

_Sokka, these are the items we recovered from Toph's box at the Boiling Rock prison. I presume that they were taken off her when she arrived because the guards may have thought that she could somehow use them to escape. I hope that they aren't damaged in any way. Sincerely,_

_Zuko _

In the little bag had been her wrist and ankle bracelets, a green headband that Sokka had given her on her 15th birthday and her meteor bracelet. He had smiled when he had seen the band made of space rock; it amazed him that she had kept it with her all these years. He would give it all back to her when she woke back up and for now he kept it in his pack. Sokka bent down and carefully picked up the large bag of money and placed it over near the rocky wall so that he would not trip over it again. He then grabbed Toph's waterskin, made his way over to Appa's saddle and climbed in to check on her. He took the cloth off her forehead and re-wetted it before carefully putting it back. As his hand moved away he noticed that her eyes were moving back and forth under her eyelids. _She must be dreaming again,_ he guessed. Over the past two days he had found her like this several times. He picked up the waterskin again and managed to get her to drink a little water and he wished that he could get some food into her, her body needed the nutrients.

* * *

It was mid-afternoon and Sokka had been readjusting the bandages on Toph's hands when her body shifted slightly. Looking up he saw that her eyes were open.

"Toph?"

She turned her head towards him and opened her mouth but no sound came out. Instead tears welled up in her eyes and started to stream down her face. Sokka swiftly gathered her into his arms and sat her on his lap. She made no sound as she cried and Sokka simply rocked her back and forth. As her shoulders heaved up and down he rubbed circles on her back, he pondered what had caused this outburst. Perhaps it was the 'fever dreams' she had experienced. She may have seen something that made her realize that she needed to let out her emotions, especially after what had happened to her.

But Sokka couldn't tell if these were tears of sadness, fear, anger, joy, relief or something else. All he could do was offer his presence and hope that it was comforting or supportive in some way. They stayed like that for half an hour before Toph stilled and leaned back into him, exhausted from the effort of crying. Sokka put his palm to her forehead and was surprised to feel no abnormal amount of heat. She had beaten the fever. He smiled slightly, that was now one less thing to worry about.

"Do you want a drink?" he asked her quietly.

He felt her nod against his chest and so he reached over to the right and grabbed her waterskin, undoing the lid and shifting her slightly so that he could bring the tip to her mouth. She drank greedily and the water that had been left from earlier in the day rapidly disappeared. Once she was finished he put the waterskin back down and turned her around so that she was facing him. He carefully wiped away the wet streaks that ran down her face with his thumbs and cupped her face in his hands.

"Are you hungry?" he asked.

"How long was I asleep for?" she inquired.

"Two days" he answered.

"Well then of course I'm hungry" she said with a slight smile.

He found himself smiling back at her, glad that something had changed and she was becoming her old sarcastic self again. Gently, he placed her back down on the flat surface of the saddle while he ran over to the food stock and rummaged through it. Not knowing what Toph would feel like he settled on some dried meat that didn't look like it was going to be too hard for her to eat. He undid the lid of the container on his way back over to the saddle and climbed in to sit in front of Toph. Sokka took out a small piece, it smelt delicious, perhaps he would have some after her. His hand bought the piece up close to her mouth and she quickly opened up. He placed the hard red-brown food onto her tongue and while she chewed he took out another piece. She ate four more pieces and the ever hungry Sokka ate eight pieces.

He had made the decision that they needed to get out of the cave. After wiping his mouth on his sleeve Sokka re-tied the leather laces on his boots and stood up. He jumped out of the saddle and picked up both his and Toph's waterskin and placed them in his bag along with the container of dried meat. He strapped his sharpened knife to his belt and walked back over to Toph.

"I think it's about time you got some fresh air" he stated.

She nodded in agreement and he proceeded to pick her up so that her legs were wrapped around his waist and she was facing him.

"You're going to have to move your head for me to be able to see were I'm going" he told her. In response she circled her arms around his chest and laid her head on his shoulder.

"Where are we going anyway?" she asked.

"To one of my favorite places on this island"

She didn't pursue a further answer and Sokka hoped that she would like where they were going. He was taking her to the Wolf Rock land mark by the ocean. Although he knew that she couldn't see it, it would be good for her to breathe the salty fresh air. Perhaps it would help her organize her thoughts like it sometimes did for him. He made his way through the forest and stopped by the fresh water stream to fill the waterskins. Once they were full he put them back in his bag and they proceeded to the land mark. Just as he was about to start his assent up the hill Toph spoke,

"We're near the ocean aren't we?"

"Yes" he gave a simple reply.

"Are you going to tell me where we are heading?"

"Be patient" he told her softly, "We're almost there"

She was silent for the rest of the climb and when Sokka reached top of the hill he and Toph were buffeted by wind. It wasn't too strong yet, but it would get worse later in the afternoon. They couldn't stay long; he didn't think Toph would enjoy wind that could sweep you off your feet if you weren't careful. He sat down cross legged with Toph on his lap and described to her what he could see and why he loved it. Eventually he trailed off and the only sounds were of the wind moving through their hair and the waves smashing against the rocks. After a time Toph spoke quietly,

"I wish I could see it"

"You will" he told her, "As soon as I take the bandages off your feet and hands, this will be the first place I show you. We can do a whole tour of the island"

"I'd like that" she said, her voice so quiet he could barely hear it.

"I've come up with a name" he stated, trying to change to topic.

"For the island?"

"Yeah. Seeing as this is my favorite land mark and place I have decided to call it Wolf Rock Island" he told her, "Do you like it?"

"It's a good name. Strong and meaningful"

He smiled, glad that she approved of his choice. It was strange to him that he cared so much for her opinion. Yes she was his friend, best friend actually. But looking at her now and watching the strands of black hair being whisked around her face, he observed everything about her that he seemed to have missed all these years.

He saw that her ear was perfectly shaped and rounded, it did not stick out to much and yet it was not to close to her head. Following her jaw line from her ear to her chin he appreciated her bone structure that had become more prominent over the years as her face had matured. His eyes moved upwards to her lips, they were of average size but were more of a light pink and he knew that out of them came words that could bring a smile to his face in any situation.

The only words he could think of in description of her nose were 'small' and 'cute'. But when he got to her eyes, the beautiful eyes that she covered most of the time with her fringe, so many words came to thought. Her eyes were delicate, entrancing, the most wonderful colour for depending on the light they could be pale green or blue, soft yet hard, warm and cold and most of all they were full of emotion. So much emotion. He thought that he could look into them for years and would still not know everything that was hidden in them.

He felt strange; these didn't feel like the observations of a best friend. They felt like something more and he could feel something more as he looked at her. He felt the need to care for her, protect her from the world and the nightmares that plagued her dreams. He wanted to know absolutely every thing about her for as close as they had become as best friends she was still somewhat of a mystery to him. He was quite the ladies man and girls constantly seemed to throw their hearts at him but Toph was different. She guarded herself never revealing more than what was needed really.

He realized that both he and Toph were like their native elements. He was like water, people seemed to see right through him, and after a glance they knew he was the 'smart and sarcastic yet romantic' guy. How they knew he didn't know but they did. At the other end of the scale was Toph. She was like earth, where you have to dig to get to the diamonds and treasure. You couldn't tell anything from just looking at her, well except for the fact that she was blind but sometimes people missed that too.

Though as much as he wanted to at that sudden moment of realization, he couldn't persue a relationship with Toph right now. She was too fragile after her ordeal to have a serious relationship on top of all the other things that troubled her mind. Perhaps in a few months he could approach her, when she was able to walk and function properly again. _But I don't even know how she feels about me_, he thought.

Toph's shivering bought him out of his thoughts and he realized that the wind had strengthened and gotten colder. He stood up and turned Toph around so that he was carrying her the same way he was on the way. He rubbed her back to try and warm her up as he descended down the hill. It was foolish of him to get so lost in his thoughts. Toph had only just recovered from her fever and he didn't need her getting sick again.

"I'm sorry" he apologized, his mouth close to her right ear, "I got caught up in my thoughts"

"It's alright" she told him, accepting his apology, "The fresh air was good, it helped me think"

"I'm glad it helped" he replied as he carefully made his way back to their camp.

* * *

**Well I'm not sure whether I like this chapter or not. I know I like the last bit with Sokka's thoughts, I have been trying to find a place to put those in for a while now. But I don't really like the rest, nothing much goes on. But I guess that happens sometimes. I have some good stuff planned for the next chapter as I enter double digits, so I'll put that up as soon as I have finished it. **


	10. A Start

**Here is chapter 10. I actually really enjoyed writing this chapter and I hope you enjoy reading it.**

Disclaimer: I don't own the show Avatar TLA or it's characters. I only own my writing and idea.

**Prison, Rescue and Life **

**Chapter 10 **

* * *

A lot of things happened in the month after Toph woke up from her fever induced sleep. She and Sokka had spent many hours talking about what happened to her in prison, Sokka had been very supportive and patient with her when she often interrupted her own story with tears and sniffs. She was grateful to him, he had given up so much time and energy for her and had saved her life, yet all he wanted in return was for her to get better. No one had ever done that for her before.

The time that they had spent near the ocean, just after she had woken up, helped Toph to order her thoughts. It gave her time to think about her dream and what it meant to her. At times though Toph's mind had wandered, mainly because she could feel Sokka's eyes on her and it was distracting. She was blind but she still got the same prickling at the back of her neck as every one else did when they were being stared at. But she said nothing of it to Sokka because she knew he must have been deep in his own thoughts.

The main thing that she had realized that day was that Sokka was the one she could trust and rely on. Though, the cautious part of her mind still knew that he could let her down and crush her at any moment. But for once she decided to follow what her heart told her to do and not what previous experiences had taught her.

Two weeks ago Sokka had removed the bandages from Toph's hands and feet for the last time. Her skin had been as smooth as when she was a baby, for she had lost all the tough skin and muscle that had been built up over the years. Though, on each and hand or foot there was a few raised scars from where a wood splinter had been particularly large or deeply driven in. Sokka had attempted to apologize for them, saying that he had tried as best he could to avoid scaring, but she had cut him off. She knew that there was no way that her body could have survived her ordeal unmarked. Sokka had then mumbled something about Katara and her 'magic water' as he called it.

After that she had tried to get up but Sokka stopped her. He first wanted to see how much movement she had retained. He asked her to move her toes and clench her hands into fists. Toph had succeeded in both those tasks, but it wasn't easy. Sensations of something similar to a person prodding her with a needle or pin shot up and down her arms when she had first moved her fingers. A similar reaction also occurred when Toph wriggled her toes and moved her feet. It was like the feeling she got after sleeping on her arm and then trying to get the proper movement and feeling back. Only it was ten times worse.

After she had satisfied Sokka with her movement capabilities he had helped her stand up and for the first time in over a year she 'saw'. It had bought a smile to her face. Over the next two weeks, up till now, they had worked on Toph's ability to walk. She had almost re-mastered the motions, but the fact that she had to learn to walk again after being able to do so for the last fifteen years of her life had deeply frustrated her.

Toph was sixteen years old and she had to learn how to walk again.

That thought kept repeating itself over and over in her head until a scowl appeared on her face. After a moment Toph shook her head and refocused her mind on the present. They, which was herself and Sokka, were making there was through the forest to a destination unknown to her. Sokka had carried her most of the way, like he was now, his reason being that some parts of the ground where to rough for her freshly healed soft feet.

"You know my feet aren't ever going to harden up if you don't let me walk around" she stated to him, slightly irritated.

Toph heard him step on a stick, snapping it in two, before he replied.

"Where we're going you will be able to work on that without to much risk of hurting yourself" he paused a moment before continuing, "Were almost there"

"Almost wh-" she didn't finish her sentence before Sokka lowered her to the ground. She felt a small smile creeping onto her face.

"I thought you'd like it" Sokka said, she felt him move back a little, "You can only stay for half an hour though, I don't want you overexerting yourself"

As he moved away from her she lifted her right foot into the air and bought it down to the ground with a thump, causing vibrations to move through the earth. Toph saw that Sokka had bought her to a large clearing where no plants grew. It was entirely made up of stone, rock, sand and most other forms of earth. Up until this moment Sokka had only permitted her to use her earth bending abilities to see. But now she was free to once again be one with her beloved earth. She thought that this was going to be the best half hour she had had in a long time.

Sokka once told her that his sword was an extension of his arm. It moved and flowed with him. Toph understood this, for her it was the same with earth. When she earth bended it was like she was controlling a larger part of herself. With her sensitive feet she could feel every grain of sand in the clearing, which was the main reason why she could adapt from earth bending to sand bending or to metal bending so easily. From what she had been told by other earth benders, most of them could only bend what was within their eyesight, where as Toph could bend something that was many miles away because unlike most benders she _felt_. She felt the earth shift and heave as Sokka made his way over to the other side of the clearing, she felt it when a small leaf landed on the ground next to her and she could even feel the tiny movement of sand under her as the blood pulsed through the veins in her feet.

Now, as if she had strings that ran from her fingers into the ground, she stretched out her arms and a gap appeared in the deep rock below the sand. Toph let herself be pulled into the whirlpool of moving grains that was now forming. She loved the feeling of it against her skin and the way it ran through the hair on her head. She was careful not to let any get in her ears or nose and a few moments later the earth swallowed her.

* * *

When Sokka was half way to the resting tree, where he was going to keep an eye on Toph, he turned around and saw that she was slowly sinking into the earth. Alarm raced through him for only a second before he realized that she was in no danger. In fact it was highly likely that she had cause the sinking. A small laugh escaped him as he jogged on, Toph always managed to surprise him.

As he began his accent to the lowest branch, which was quite high, of the tree he remembered that this past month had been full of surprises. Like when he had asked Toph about what had happened to her and she had, in much detail, informed him of all the things that had happened in prison. She even expressed her emotions about every little event that had occurred. On more than one occasion he found tears sliding down his cheeks.

Toph had also put on weight quite quickly. Now she was almost at her original size, though Sokka knew that she might not reach that for a few more months. He suspected that her weight gain would start to slow down soon, but that didn't matter because she wasn't dangerously thin anymore.

Sokka settled himself on the branch just as Toph reappeared in the center of the clearing. As she lifted her arms to perform some sort of earth bending move, the sleeves on her upper arms slid down and he glimpsed her meteor bracelet for a second before her body was encased into a ball of large rock. Sokka's eyes had a hard time keeping up as he watched her roll around and bounce off the natural rocks that stuck through the earth. Sokka smiled. Besides Aang, Toph was had to be the most energetic sixteen year olds he knew. Though he guessed she would tire soon, her fitness would take a longer time to build back up.

There had also been more realizations over the past month. Like when Sokka had given Toph back her meteor bracelet and other possessions a few weeks ago. The huge smile that had lit up her face had been so 'Toph' and beautiful that Sokka decided that he wanted to see it more often. Then when she had first tried to walk again, after her bandages had been removed, and ended up falling back into his arms he knew that he would do anything to help her.

These were funny feelings for Sokka. Sure he had been protective of Yue and Suki but the absolute need he felt to help Toph, protect her, support her, watch over her and care for her was different. As he watched her shooting up pillars of stone into the air he realized that this might be what love was. In that second he nearly fell out of the tree. How could he, Sokka the mighty warrior be in love? How had the small earth bender that was training in front of him captured his heart? This was yet another surprise that she had given him.

Sokka studied the different shades of brown in the bark to his left as he pondered the implications of his revelation. Then after a time he looked back up at Toph and saw that her movements were slower and she was looking tired. He looked at the sun's position in the sky and reckoned that it had been half an hour since their arrival. He waited for a gap in her earth bending before yelling out to her. She paused and turned her head in his direction. He carefully climbed down from the tree and after his feet met with the ground with a thud and he took a few steps forward, Toph started to walk over to him. He paused and waited for her to reach him in the shade.

When she entered the darker light under the branch spread of the tree, Sokka saw that she was completely covered in dirt. Then a step or two later, she was standing right in front of him with a smile on her face.

"Thank you Sokka" she said, "You don't know how long I've been waiting for that"

"No problem, we should be able to come here again in a few days when you have recovered. Next time we'll stay for a bit longer though"

He looked down at Toph. Her hair was full of dirt and yet it was still shiny. One hand was on her hip and the other played with her meteor bracelet on the opposite arm. She wasn't looking at him anymore; she was looking slightly down and to the side, smiling to herself. Her toes were wriggling in the dirt. Sokka breathed in and it seemed like he was surrounded by her smell, not overpoweringly so, but in a sort of comforting way. He observed all this in an instant. Without thinking he leant down slightly and placed a small kiss on her lips. Then after a second he pulled back, his body tingling slightly.

A few seconds later Toph hadn't moved and Sokka noticed that her mouth was open slightly. Then he realized what he had done and he began to apologize but Toph's hand flew up into the air.

"Explain not apologize" she told him. Her voice didn't tell him whether she had approved of his action or not.

"If that's what you want" he said. Sokka then began to tell her how since he had rescued her she had occupied almost every one of his thoughts, how beautiful he thought she was, how he loved her sarcasm and her smell, how her smile always made him smile and the fact that he had never started a relationship where close friendship had come first but now he believed that it was the key to what they had and he wanted to know where it could go. Sokka told her that there was no pressure because he knew that she had been through a lot recently and if she wanted he would just offer his continued friendship.

There was a minute or so of silence while Toph pondered his words. Sokka wished he knew what she was thinking, he had made a stupid mistake and he really hoped that it wasn't going to ruin the trust that they shared.

"Can we sit down?" she asked him.

"Yeah" he said as they both sat down in the cool sand.

When they were comfy she began. "Sokka, I went through a lot during my time in prison, as you know, and I will never forget what happened. But as much as I can I want to move forward, so that I can have more closure to the fact that I have been rescued and I don't have to be scared about what tomorrow will hold. Today, earth bending again, began that process and I want you to help me with the rest of my journey. I have been in a few relationships before and they didn't turn out well and I know that not many of yours have gone well either" she took in a slightly shaky breath.

"But maybe with us it will be different because as you say we have the foundation of a close friendship behind us. I am willing to give this a try. You need to understand though, I don't know whether I would recover if this went terribly wrong and we lost the bond that we have now and I don't know if you are willing to risk that Snoozles, but at this moment for some stupid reason I am"

Sokka looked at her and saw a single tear making its way down her face. She had turned her eyes away from him, like she was embarrassed that she may have said too much. But for Sokka she had said just enough. He reached over and wiped the tear from her face and spoke in a quiet voice.

"I am willing to risk it Toph because I believe we can make this work" he tucked a piece of stray hair behind her ear and kissed her once again, lightly.

The two of them sat there under the shade of the resting tree for quite some time, just content with being in each others presence, until Toph punched Sokka in the arm.

"Idiot" she murmured affectionately.

* * *

**So I'd love to hear all you opinions on this chapter. The relationship side of writing is a bit new to me so any help would be great :) **

**Also, I was thinking that the next chapter will be like sort of the start or part two of the story. They are in a relationship now and I think that because Toph is beginning to recover I can start to write her in more of her traditional character. **


	11. Not Quite Better

**Woo! Exams are finished! *Dances around wildly* **

**So that means, I'm back to finish this fiction XD **

**This is the beginning of part 2 of Prison, Rescue and Life.**

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar TLA or its characters, I only own my idea.

**Prison, Rescue and Life (Part 2)**

**Chapter 11 **

* * *

"Are you nearly done yet?"

"Be patient" Sokka said sternly.

"Easy for you to say, you aren't the one who's been lying on their back for the past hour" Toph grumbled.

"Sorry, but the wounds on your stomach and thigh are particularly large and deep. I have to be careful and thorough if they are going to heal properly" he explained.

"I know, I know. I just wish it didn't take so long that's all"

Sokka smiled, Toph had never been particularly patient. He gently tied the last bandage wrap around her stomach and helped her with her over shirt. Toph flashed him a quick smile and jumped up, nearly knocking him over.

"Please be careful while you train, I hate having to waste these bandages all the time because you get them so covered in dirt" he pleaded to her.

"Stop worrying so much, we have plenty of money to buy more and plus that's what bandages are for. To keep the wound clean" Toph reasoned.

"Alright, I'll see you back at the cave in an hour. Otherwise I'll come looking"

Toph made to walk away but Sokka grabbed her arm.

"I love you" he said, before she could protest.

"You wh-"

"Toph, it's simple. I. Love. You" he practically spelt it out to her.

Toph didn't say anything; she merely gave a small smile. Sokka let go of her arm and she turned around and began walking towards her training grounds. Sokka sighed and picked up his pack and started towards the cave. He hadn't expected Toph to return his action that instant, that wasn't what she was like. But it still disappointed him somewhat. _Give her time,_ he thought.

Over the past three weeks since their friendship had stepped up to something more, Sokka had learned not to push Toph too hard. It usually caused her to go defensive or retreat. But as usual his mind hadn't fully processed implications before his mouth spoke. He just hoped that he hadn't ruined anything.

Back in the clearing outside the cave, Sokka was surprised to see Hawkey perched on his stand. Sokka had sent the messenger bird to Katara and Aang about a week ago. He dropped his pack and took the bird inside.

* * *

Toph ran to the middle of her training ground and paused to catch her breath. _Love_…The word bounced around in Toph's mind. She knew what it meant, but she still had trouble fitting herself, Sokka and that word all into one box. Toph frowned, she felt bad for not saying anything to Sokka but his revelation was just so sudden that she couldn't think of anything to utter. All she could do was smile as she felt Sokka's truth telling heart beat slow down when she didn't say those three words back.

It broke her own heart to see that happen to him but he had sort of ambushed her, not intentionally of course but still. Toph shook her head, she knew she loved him back but for her, the moment had to be right. It was silly, yes, but important too. After coming to that conclusion Toph spread her legs slightly and bent her knees, preparing to earthbend.

Toph practiced for around half an hour before she tired and decided to rest for the rest of her allocated time. She came back to the center of the clearing and lay down on her back. During the years after the war she had perfected her sandbending and had come up with a clever use for it. Toph had always known that she would never be able to swim, well in water at least. But during one training session where she had been playing around with sandbending, Toph noticed that sand acted much like water. Only it was more dense and rough.

Clenching her fingers and toes and then slowly releasing them, Toph began to bend the section of rock she was lying on into a very airy pool of sand. She made it so airy because it was easier to mover around in. Now, with earth up to her neck, Toph was essentially swimming.

But the sand close to the surface had been heated by the sun and irritated Toph's skin. So she bought up some of the cooler earth from deeper in the ground to sooth her aching limbs. For once she was glad no one was around, that she wasn't the center of attention and that Sokka wasn't keeping his eye on her. Sure Toph loved all those things but sometimes she just liked to be alone, to be able to relax and practice without trying to look strong or show off.

Toph 'floated' in her pool of earth till her hour was up. Then as quickly as she could, she made her way back to Sokka. She didn't want him to worry and come looking for her. But as she jogged through the forest she rounded a tree too quickly and had to stretch at an odd angle to keep her balance. Toph yelped as the muscles in her stomach stretched and clenched at the same time, a fire rippling along her healing wound. She collapsed onto the ground and wrapped her arms around her middle, waiting for the episode to end.

After a minute, that had felt like a year, the pain subsided somewhat. Toph tried to get up but she was too exhausted and she realized that she would need help to get back. Toph lifted her fist and pounded it against the ground as hard as her tired arm would allow. She felt Sokka, only about 100 meters away, sitting in the cave. That wasn't too far; she could have probably called out to him if her mouth didn't taste oddly like blood.

Toph sank her hand into the earth and bent her fingers. In response a slightly raised trail of earth followed the direction she pushed it in from where she was lying to where Sokka was. When the trail hit Sokka's boot Toph took back her hand, closed her eyes and waited.

* * *

Sokka dropped the message from Katara and Aang when he felt something knock his boot. He looked down to see that it was where an odd looking trail of earth ended. He picked the piece of paper back up and placed it in Appa's saddle, where it wouldn't get lost or damaged and walked outside. The trail continued toward the forest, Sokka scratched his chin thoughtfully. _Only Toph could have done something like this,_ he thought.

His heart beat increased slightly when he realized something must be wrong. Sokka began to run, following the trail. He was only a few paces into the forest when the trail came around a tree and he saw the heap of dark green and yellow clothing that was Toph.

"Toph?" he asked while cautiously putting a hand on her shoulder.

She groaned in response.

"What happened?" he kept her distracted while he tried to pick her up, a hard task seeing as she was curled into a tight little ball.

"My stomach" was Toph's weak reply. Sokka noticed the line of blood that ran down her chin as she spoke.

"It's ok now," he told her comfortingly, "I'm going to take you back to the camp"

Sokka managed to get his arms around Toph and lift her up, holding her shins and middle back as she was still curled in a ball with her arms wrapped around her stomach. As he made his was back, Sokka kept having to bounce Toph up with his knee to stop her slipping. The scene reminded him of the time where he had to carry Toph around after her feet were burned. They were both so different now and yet still so much the same.

Once inside, Sokka took Toph over to the saddle in which they had both been sleeping lately, as it fitted two people and was warmer than the ground, and gently put her down. He was relieved to see that she relaxed slightly and was now just lying down with her arms around her middle, rather than being tightly curled up. But she still had a look of fear and pain in her features.

Sokka grabbed one of the waterskins and put it in Toph's hands while sitting her up so that she could drink. After a few gulps she began to recall and tell him about her episode. Concerned, Sokka lifted up her overtop and untied her bandages. The wound itself was fine but when Sokka gently prodded the muscles around the scab they were tight and Toph flinched at the touch.

"Sorry" he murmured.

"It's alright, the pains' not as bad anymore"

Sokka paused for a moment. "I don't think there is anything we can do about it. You will just have to be more careful to not over exert yourself and maybe do some exercises to strengthen the muscles."

"It seems I have to be careful with everything these days" Toph said while blowing the hair out of her eyes.

"I know, but it will get better eventually"

"Yeah, I suppose"

"Can you open your mouth? I want to check where that blood was coming from"

Toph nodded and opened her mouth for him to look inside. Sokka realized that she had bitten her tongue, there was nothing he could do about that either.

"You bit your tongue, but that should heal quickly by itself" he informed her.

As Toph cautiously sat herself back up, Sokka reached over and grabbed the message from Katara and Aang.

"What's that?" Toph asked, hearing the paper rustle.

"A message from Katara and Aang, Hawkey got back today"

"It took him long enough"

"Well you know Aang, he probably gave the bird at least two days rest" Sokka said with a chuckle. Toph gave a smile,

"What does it say?"

Sokka skimmed over the message again. "Nothing much really, they both hope you make steady progress in recovering and Aang says we can keep Appa as long as we need him"

Toph didn't say anything at first but then after a time she opened her mouth, "I miss them…"

"I know, in a few more weeks, when you are ready to travel that far we can go visit"

"That sounds good, Katara will want to fill me in on the year's worth of gossip I've missed out on anyway" she said with a smile.

"And Aang must be really missing Appa" Sokka added.

"Mhmm. Hey, you know what would make me feel better right now?" Toph asked. Sokka could tell she was trying to change the subject and her own mood.

"A bath?"

"No, well maybe. But what would really make me feel good is some cactus juice" She emphasized the last two words.

"Oh really? Well, as I recall, the last time you drank cactus juice was at Zuko and Mai's wedding, and we both know how that turned out"

"Oh come on! You're the one who bought it and broke that vase, not me" she countered.

"Hahaha, yeah those were some good times"

Toph leaned against him, "That they were"

Sokka put one arm around her shoulders and bent down to kiss the top of her head. His lips came away with sand on them. "Toph, maybe we should go and get you cleaned up. I need a wash as well"

"Just as long as you don't pester me about needing to learn to swim"

"I will always pester you about that, but not today" he said while standing up.

"Good. Now, when are you going to give me that massage you promised?" Toph spoke in a tone that Sokka found hard to resist.

"When you aren't covered in sand"

"You know how much I love my healthy layer of dirt though" she pouted.

"I don't mind your dirt, I actually like it. But I can't be kissing you and getting sand all over my lips can I?"

"I suppose not" she said, defeated.

Sokka smiled and picked Toph up so quickly she gave a surprised yelp. "Hey!"

"Don't you want that massage?"

Toph gave him a smile as he ran outside, carrying her towards the forest.

* * *

**Aww, a nice light ending to finish my first comeback chapter. The next chapter should be fun to write XD Oh and sorry this one is so short…I promise to make the next one longer :) **


	12. An Idea

**Thanks for all the comments, here is chapter 12. **

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar TLA or its characters; I only own my idea and writing.

**Prison, Rescue and Life **

**Chapter 12 **

* * *

Toph jerked back slightly when the cold water touched her foot. This always seemed to happen when she bathed. No matter how many times, the water around her feet made her uncomfortable and jumpy. It was a natural reaction she guessed, after all she couldn't swim but it still made her somewhat insecure.

Taking a deep breath she lowered her foot and felt the squishy, water clogged sand suck against her foot and swirl around her ankle. Toph took another step and the water rose to just below her knees. She shifted her grip on the piece of wash cloth she was holding that contained her soap. Sokka had said that the soap wouldn't harm the waterway because he had bought ones made from natural ingredients. She wasn't particularly concerned by the 'health' of the water, but it seemed important to Sokka.

The ground beneath her slowly turned from sand into gravel and then into large pebbles. Toph stopped, the water level was at her mid-thigh and that was as far as she would go. When she had been travelling with the Gaang, she would never have gone out as deep as she was now. But her confidence had grown since then and she was also taller. A part of Toph's mind also knew that it was because Sokka was watching over her and she trusted him completely.

Toph unraveled the soap from the wash cloth and wet them both in the water. She then began to clean her sand covered skin with the cool liquid and soapy bubbles.

* * *

Sokka caught himself staring and quickly looked away. He had already had his wash and was now letting the suns rays dry his skin and clothes. It was just after midday and the shadows of the forest were just starting to creep up on him. Sokka shuffled a little closer towards the water where the sun was warming the grass. He looked up again.

He was in a difficult position, he knew he had to watch Toph because she wasn't confident with water but he was finding it harder and harder to not let his mind wander when he looked at her. She had defiantly grown up. Now that she was standing and walking all by herself, Sokka had noticed how tall she had gotten. The top of Toph's head was just above his shoulder. _The perfect height for kissing_, he thought momentarily.

Toph had her underclothes on, but Sokka could still make out the slight curves she had grown into. Though it was clear she still had weight to gain, he could see some of her ribs quite clearly. It was strange in a way, to think that he had watched Toph grow from 12 to 16 and yet he hadn't ever noticed the changes. Sokka decided that from now on he would defiantly pay attention to changes.

Sokka had often been known to make sudden decisions and now he was ready to make another one. Although he had known it the moment he had almost fallen out of that tree at Toph's first training session, now he realized it. Not only was he, Sokka the warrior, in love with Toph. He also wanted to spend the rest of his life with her. It was a big conclusion to come to for some people, but for him it was simple. He loved her and he was pretty sure that she loved him. Surly that was all that mattered?

Sokka jumped slightly when Toph called his name.

"Yeah?" he responded after noticing that she didn't seem to be in danger.

"Stop staring" she commanded.

"What?" Sokka asked, confused.

"You're staring at me," Toph stated, "It's making me uncomfortable"

"But I-, I mean-, I didn't-," he became caught up in his excuse.

A small laugh escaped Toph and Sokka looked up to see that she was facing him. "It's ok Sokka, I'm not angry. I appreciate you watching over in case I get into trouble. But I would prefer it if you didn't stare," she explained.

"How did you know?" he asked, "I didn't even realize it myself"

"You know that feeling you get sometimes when you are being watched? The hairs on you neck stand up?"

"Yeah…"

"Well blind people get that too," she told him.

"No, Toph I wasn't implying-, I just-," He fumbled with his words again. Sokka hated how she always managed to turn his questions or comments into something to do with her blindness.

Toph laughed again, "Chill Sokka, you know I'm just teasing"

"Well I wish you wouldn't" he said, sulkily.

"Oh really?" Toph asked in a slightly different tone.

"No," he answered in a defeated voice.

"Didn't think so," A winning smile grew on Toph's lips and she returned back to washing the soap bubbles of her arms.

Sokka breathed out. This was what he loved about Toph, the fact that she knew his buttons and how to push them. Sure it got annoying but it just showed how much she knew about him. To him it showed that she cared and that was always something Sokka had wanted to have in the woman he would share his life with.

Suddenly he was stirred from his thoughts when Toph came and stretched herself out on the grass to his right.

"Tanning session?" he inquired.

"I don't tan, or so I've been told," she stated.

Sokka looked at her pale skin and shrugged his shoulders. "Well don't stay too long in the sun, you'll burn."

"I know, I just want to dry off"

Sokka watched as a deep blue and greed butterfly came to rest on Toph's wet hair. He gently coaxed it onto his hand and felt the strange sensation of the creature's tiny hairs on his skin as it walked across his fingers. Toph rolled over to dry her back and the insect flew away.

"Toph?"

"Mhmm?"

"Where were you before you got the wedding invitation?" he asked.

"What?"

"I mean where were you when you got Katara and Aang's wedding invite? What were you doing with your life? I hadn't seen you in ages." He questioned further.

"I was living in Ba Sing Se. I had been for about 8 months when I got the invite."

"But I thought you hated Ba Sing Se." Sokka stated, slightly confused.

"I did when I was younger, it reminded me too much of my home life. But it grew on me during the time I spent there," Toph explained.

"So who did you stay with?" He asked for more than one reason.

"No one. I had my own house and job. I competed in a few earthbending tournaments until they banned me because I kept winning every time"

"I'm sure they were just jealous. Where did you work?" Sokka continued his questioning.

"I had odd jobs here and there, building houses and helping with repairs to parts of the city. I often visited Iroh's tea shop, he always insisted I never pay and that it was on the house."

"I don't understand. Why did you have to work? I mean because you know, your…well rich."

"My family is rich, not me," Toph clarified, "I went back to my parents shortly after Zuko and Mai's wedding. They told me that they had had enough of my running away and disrespect. They cut me off."

"I'm sure they still love you," Sokka attempted to make her feel better.

"My mother perhaps, but I don't think my father could ever see past my blindness."

"You still shouldn't have had to work for money anyway. You're the worlds greatest Earthbender! You helped end the war. And you could have always come back to us," Sokka referred to the Gaang.

"But I didn't want to, you all were getting on with your own lives and besides I wanted to know what it was like," She explained.

"What it was like?" he asked her.

"To live like a regular person. All my life I had lived in luxury or been running around in wild adventure with you lot." A flick of her wrist indicated she was referring to him.

"You're not a regular person"

"Thank you. But that be as it may, I still wanted to know. Just out of curiosity I guess." Toph got up and Sokka watched her as she made her way over to the shade.

"Now enough talking," She said, "I think it's time for my massage."

"Just one more question?"

"One more," she permitted.

"Can you read or write?"

Toph's eyebrows met, "What kind of a stupid question is that! Of course I can't read or write." She waved her hand in front of her eyes to make an extra point.

"Just checking"

* * *

Sokka carefully placed his footsteps as he helped Toph to make her way over a fallen tree. Normally she would have been fine by herself but at the moment she seemed a bit out of it. _The massage must have relaxed her a lot_, he thought. Having Toph in a world all by herself had given Sokka some of his own time to think.

"Toph"

"Mmhmm?" came her lazy reply.

"I have an idea," Sokka continued.

"That's nice"

"I know what we are going to do for the next week or so," he left the statement hanging to arouse Toph's interest. It worked.

"What?" she asked in a semi-interested tone.

"I am going to teach you how to read and write, and we are going to build a house," Sokka told her.

Toph seemed not to have heard him, but after about a minute or so of walking in silence, she turned to face him. "Wait, what?"

* * *

**Woo! Another chapter up. Sorry this one took a while, I've been a bit busy lately. **


	13. A Home

**This is chapter 13 :) **

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar TLA or its characters. I only own my writing and idea.

**Prison, Rescue and Life **

**Chapter 13 **

* * *

Sokka took Toph's hand and pulled her out from the darkness of the cave and around to the cliff face. He placed her palm against the rock.

"You want to build a house up there?" Toph asked.

"Yep"

"Have you ever been to the top of the cliff?"

"Nope"

"How do you plan to get up there then?" The irritation in Toph's voice was becoming more prominent.

"You"

"Me?"

"Yes. Couldn't you earthbend us some steps or a stone lift, like you did on the outer wall of Ba Sing Se?" Sokka asked her.

"I can try, I suppose," Toph shrugged her shoulders.

Sokka clapped his hands together, "Great! But don't strain yourself."

Toph gave Sokka a look, before pushing him against the rock wall.

"Hey-" He couldn't finish as Toph bended a two meter square area into the rock and pushed him again so that he was standing in a tiny doorway, surrounded by stone.

"Well aren't you coming?" He asked her sarcastically.

"Duh," She replied while squeezing in beside him.

Sokka watched Toph in fascination as she flicked both wrists and pumped her arms once upwards. Then they began to move up the cliff at a quick speed. Before long the stone above their heads melted away as sand, back into the earth and they emerged on the top of the cliff.

Sokka looked around, a smile plastered on his face. The area was perfect, grass covered most of the ground and large trees grew on the ocean side of the land, protecting them from the wind. Their looked to be enough space for a guest house as well as a house for himself and Toph.

"What do you think?" He asked her.

Toph tapped her heel on the ground, "It feels good and strong, you picked well Snoozles."

"Good, can you take us back down now?"

"What, already? Don't you want to start?" Toph had a surprised look on her face.

"Its getting late and we need to plan before we start to build any way," Sokka explained.

Toph shrugged her shoulders and motioned for him to come back to where she was standing. When they were ready, Toph earthbended them both back down to the ground and Sokka followed behind Toph as she walked back into the cave.

From his pile of stuff, Sokka pulled out the little model house he had bought at the market. He turned it over in his hands while making his way over to where Toph was sitting against Appa's saddle.

Toph looked up at him, "What do you have there?"

"A plan," Sokka stated.

Toph put out her hand, and Sokka place the model in her soft palm. She ran her fingers along the lines and curves of the little object. She nodded her head, "It feels nice, but how do you plan do design the interior?"

"Well, I thought we could do that as we went along," Sokka answered weakly.

Toph raised an eyebrow.

"One other thing," Sokka said.

"Yes?"

"I think we should build a guest house too, I mean there is enough room up there and it would be handy if Katara and Aang ever came to visit."

"What ever you want, Sokka"

Sokka took Toph's hand that was currently holding the model, so that it was squished between them, "No, what ever we want Toph."

* * *

For the next two weeks they built, demolished and rebuilt. Constantly redoing their work and revisiting plans over night meals. They fought and laughed over silly little things, but they were always one. Sokka taught Toph the beginnings of reading and writing through the carving characters into the sand and having her earthbend them into words and sentences. She was a quick learner.

The guest house was completed first, but Toph and Sokka's own home took a while longer. They wanted it to be perfect, even though Toph could assist in changes at any point in time. Once it was finished, both Sokka and Toph were pleased with their work. It was a two story home with four bedrooms and two bathrooms. There was a study/library for Sokka and a specially built room for Hawkey.

But though the houses were technically finished, they were still empty. Toph had built tables and furniture of stone; she had even bended intricate designs onto the frames of beds and the edges of chairs. It looked very beautiful, but there weren't any rugs or blankets or eating utensils to fill the cooking areas. It was empty.

Sokka new that they would have to make a trip to the market before everything was done. The money Zuko had sent them would be more than enough to purchase everything they needed. Also, Toph would be well enough to come with him this time.

"Toph," Sokka asked the night on they had finally finished their home.

"Yes?" She replied in a tired voice.

"Now that you are well enough, do you want to come with me on the next market trip?"

Sokka watched as Toph lightly bit her lip.

"I don't mind it if you don't want to come," he quickly added, "I mean, would you be comfortable in a crowd?"

"I don't know Sokka, it's been such a long time"

Sokka took her hand. "How about you come along and you can wait with Appa while I go and buy stuff. If you feel up to it you can join me at any time"

Toph squeezed his hand, "Alright."

* * *

**Sorry that this is so terribly, terribly short. I will make the next chapter longer. I just wanted to get theses scenes out of my head and into the story. **


	14. Love

**Thank you so much for all the comments, you guys are amazing. :D **

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar TLA or its characters; I only own my idea and writing.

**Prison, Rescue and Life **

**Chapter 14 **

* * *

Toph awoke before Sokka. This was, these days, quite early.

She quietly climbed out of Appa's saddle and put on her wrist and ankle bracelets. There was no need to put on her meteor bracelet, as Toph never took it off.

She tip-toed to the cave entrance and earthbended an arrow into the ground, pointing out.

Toph then disappeared into the foggy morning.

* * *

Sokka opened his eyes.

Something was wrong.

He leapt up from his sleeping sack and looked around.

Toph was gone.

His mind flashed back to her incident, when she had fainted out in the forest. He ran towards the entrance so fast, that he tripped over a hill that hadn't been there yesterday. Sokka pulled himself up, dusted his pants off and turned around to see what had tripped him.

His eyes met with an arrow that had been raised up from the ground. _Earthbending_, he thought. That only meant one thing, Toph. Sokka calmed slightly. The fact that she could achieve this was a sign that she couldn't be in much danger, if any at all.

He decided to follow the arrow.

It led out into the cool morning air, just outside the cave. Sokka spotted another arrow pointing west, or right. He followed it with his eyes and his jaw dropped slightly. Stairs had been carved in a zigzag formation into the cliff face. They rose from the base all the way to the top.

_What is she up to?, _he asked himself.

Out of slight excitement and mostly curiosity, Sokka ran over to the steps and began the accent. It was slower the Toph's earth lift, but it did the job and in no time he had reached the top.

He bent over for a moment to catch his breath, deciding that running up those steps each morning would be a good exercise to add to his training schedule. When he looked up, Sokka noticed Toph. She was on the ocean side of the cliff flat, standing bare foot with her feet buried in lush grass and looking out towards the sunrise. Almost as if she could see it.

Sokka let the image burn into his mind so that it would never be forgotten. He captured the wind playing with the loose strands of her raven hair, the way the morning light made her skin shine with beauty and the slender fingers that traced a pattern along the black bracelet, curved around her upper arm.

For some reason his eyes moved to their house, newly completed. Then back to Toph and down to his hands. Sokka knew that this was what he wanted. A home, his own land and to spend his life with the wonderful woman in front of him.

Quietly, so as not to spoil the moment, Sokka walked over to Toph and stood behind her.

Toph gave a quiet sigh, "I wish I could see it."

"Do you want me to describe it?" Sokka offered.

Toph nodded and Sokka put his hands on her shoulders as she leaned back into him.

"Well, at the moment the sun is about a thumb width above the horizon. It's not the usual colour of bright yellow and white. It is a mixture of purples and oranges because it's so low in the sky," Sokka sat down on the ground and pulled Toph down with him, so that she was sitting on his lap. "The clouds are wispy and hazy. The sky isn't a light blue, but more of a deep aqua. The water is calm and has a glassy look about it. It looks like a scene from a palace painting. One of the ones that people don't actually believe exists in real life."

Sokka gently placed his head on top of Toph's and ran his palms down her arms to capture her small hands. Her fingers curled around his as he continued. "And now for you," he stated, "The soft light seems to wrap around your skin and it is lost in your beautiful, pale eyes. There is a slight wind, as you can probably tell, that is twisting your hair into the most wonderful shapes and patterns. And at the moment I am asking my self how such a magnificent woman, whose beauty could put any goddess to shame, is sitting right here in my lap." Sokka finished by planting a light kiss on Toph's head.

For a while neither of them moved. But then Toph turned her head up to his, "Sokka?"

"Yeah?"

"I love you"

"I love you too, Toph" Sokka smiled as she tilted her head up slightly at his response and he bought his lips down to hers.

* * *

**Really sorry about the shortness, but I hope I made up for that in description. :)**


	15. Market

**Sorry it's been so long since my last update, but I have been quite busy this term in school and with work. So to make up for it I have written an extra long chapter. :) **

**Thank you for all the reviews on the last chapter and the story alerts, they always encourage me to keep writing. **

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar TLA or its characters. I only own my idea and writing.

**Prison, Rescue and Life **

**Chapter 15 **

* * *

Sokka watched Toph with curiosity as she knelt down on the sandy cave floor and spread out a roll of paper.

"Toph," he said. "You're going to get it dirty"

The young woman dressed in green gave him a look. "Just go find me something sharp and pointy, Snoozles"

Sokka sighed and walked outside into the bright sunlight. It didn't take him long to find a snapped stick. He took his small knife from his belt and sharpened the end to a nice sharp point.

When he got back inside, Toph was kneeling in front of the paper with her arm outstretched towards him, her palm open. Sokka gave the stick to her and she began.

"Toph, I don't know if this is going to work"

"Be quiet and watch," she snapped at him.

Sokka sighed again; she had been like this all morning. He guessed that she was nervous about their market trip. They were due to leave later on.

He didn't want to get into an argument so he did as she had told him and watched her as she pricked tiny little holes into the paper. This went on for around half an hour before Toph put the stick down and ran her fingers over the little indents. She seemed satisfied and gave a small smile before asking Sokka to get her the ink and smallest brush.

Sokka complied and Toph proceeded to dip the brush in the ink, being careful not to get any on her hands or in her hair that was currently untied. She ran her left index finger along one of the rows of holes, Toph then used her right hand to paint the traced line.

This process continued for an hour. When she was finished, Toph places a weight on each end of the paper and sat back on the ground, stretching her hands.

"Tell me if you can read the first line," Toph said to Sokka.

"Alright," Sokka said while skimming over the first line of writing. Her characters were a bit wonky and crooked, but it was readable.

"I can read it," he told her.

"Say it out loud," Toph requested.

Sokka took a breath before quickly skimming the line again. "It says, _To Katara of the Southern Water Tribe, wife of the Avatar. From Toph Bei Fong of the Earth Kingdom, friend and ally to the Avatar_," Sokka paused, "You're sending a letter to my sister?"

"And you've written a letter to Aang. What of it?"

"Nothing," he replied.

"Well the main thing is that my writing is readable. Do you know how I did it?" Toph asked.

"Yes"

Toph raised an eyebrow at him.

"You first earthbended what you wanted to write into the ground and raised the characters up slightly in the earth. You then laid the roll of paper over the characters and used a pointed stick to dot over the characters. Lastly, you traced over the dotted lines in ink."

"Very observant," Toph commented.

"Thank you," Sokka said with a smile.

While they had been talking the ink on the paper had dried. Sokka took the weights of the ends and rolled the sheet up into a scroll. He then picked hp the letter for Aang that he had written earlier.

With a small amount of ink, Sokka painted a water symbol on Katara's letter and an air symbol on Aang's, so they would know whose was whose.

Once the symbols had dried, he rolled one scroll up tight enough to fit inside the other one. Sokka then proceeded to put the messages inside Hawkey's holder, along with two gold pieces. One from Toph and one from himself.

Toph gave Hawkey one last peach seed before Sokka took him outside and sent him off in the direction of the Southern Air Temple.

When Sokka walked back he noticed that Toph was looking a little pale. He knew she was thinking about the markets, they would be leaving soon.

"How about we have some lunch before we leave?" Sokka tried to make her feel better. One of the things they had in common was a love for food.

"That sounds good," Toph said and gave Sokka a small smile.

Sokka leant over slightly and kissed her on the forehead before going to search for his spark rocks.

* * *

Toph placed her hand over her mouth as the other gripped the rail of Appa's saddle. She decided that flying wasn't as tolerable as she had remembered it to be and that she should not have eaten lunch. Of course it wasn't as bad as sailing, but she still felt pretty sick.

"How is it going back there?" She heard Sokka call.

"Fine," She called back before regretting opening her mouth.

_This is going to be a long flight_, Toph thought.

* * *

Appa landed on the ground with a thump. They were about a 15 minute walk away from the main city markets. Sokka patted the flying bison on the head and climbed over its furry shoulders to where Toph was sitting in the saddle.

"Hey," he said.

"Hey," Toph replied quietly.

"Listen, I'll only be gone for an hour, maybe less."

"I know," Toph 'looked' down at her hands.

Sokka felt bad, he hadn't seen Toph like this in weeks. But he knew this was going to be an important step for her.

"Love you," he said and kissed her small nose.

Toph smiled at the gesture and replied with, "I love you too."

Sokka readjusted his bag on his shoulder before sliding down Appa's tail and beginning the walk towards the markets.

It only took him about five minutes to find his friend Alandy. The kind looking man was hanging around the same stall where Sokka had first met him.

Sokka put out his hand and the two men shared a firm hand shake.

"Good to see you again," Alandy said.

Sokka smiled.

"How can I help you today?"

After giving him two coins, Sokka briefly explained the situation regarding Toph and their house to Alandy.

"I see. Well purchasing that much stuff is going to take at least half the day," Alandy commented.

"I guessed as much," Said Sokka, "That's why I wanted to give you a list of what we want before I go back to get Toph"

Alandy nodded, "Let's see the list then," Alandy motioned with his hand.

"There's something I wan to do first," Sokka said with a twinkle in his eye.

* * *

It was nearing mid afternoon and most of the shopping was done. Sokka thought Toph had coped reasonably well. She mainly held onto his arm and put on a face that hid the fact she was scared inside. She helped Sokka to choose the thin mattresses and soft sheets. Though she was quiet most of the time, Sokka thought it was very 'Toph' of her not to complain or run away.

They had packed all of their purchases into Appa's saddle, till there was no room left for Toph. Sokka noted that she would have to sit with him on the way back. Now though they were having some afternoon tea at a small restaurant that Alandy had showed them.

Sokka sipped his tea while Alandy started to get up from his seat. Sokka raised a questioning eyebrow at him.

"It's about time I got back home," He explained.

"Well then, thank you for all the help. It was very kind of you to help us pack our things into Appa's saddle," Sokka said while rummaging in his bag.

He gave Alandy an extra coin and shook his hand, before the kind man walked out of the restaurant.

Sokka turned to where Toph was drinking her own tea. "Good?" He asked her.

"Not as good as Iroh's," Toph replied.

Sokka laughed, "Of course its not"

A waitress across the room gave Sokka a look. "Heh, heh. Umm I think it's about time we headed off, don't you think?"

"Yeah," Toph replied.

Sokka got up and put a few coins on the table, before pushing his chair in and walking back outside with Toph beside him. It was less crowded now and Sokka suspected she didn't feel the need to hand onto his arm anymore.

They lazily walked down the middle of the street, enjoying the afternoon sun after a long day. Sokka looked across to the left where a large group of noisy people where exiting an inn. He frowned. _Must be some sort of tourist group_, he thought. As the crowd came closer, Sokka tried to move Toph and himself to the side of the road, where they could wait for the people to pass.

But just as they moved to safety, a small boy came through a gap between some of the stalls and ran straight into Toph, pushing her into the mass group before Sokka had time to grab her. In an instant she was gone.

* * *

At first Toph had no idea what was going on. _Too many people_, she thought. But after a moment, she realized that she had been separated from Sokka and was now being herded along with the large crowd they had tried to avoid.

Normally this situation wouldn't worry Toph, she could have just earthbended herself into the air on top of a pillar and Sokka could have found her easily enough. But before she had time to do just that, she felt a hand wrap around her wrist with a grip that would bruise later.

"Ow!" Toph cried out.

"A little lost are we?" She heard a male voice sneer.

"Let go of me!"

"Oh, I don't think so. Why don't you come with me back to the inn, ay?" The man said, in a tone that made Toph feel sick, "A pretty woman like yourself can't wonder around when it's getting this close to dark"

The man tried to pull her along with him.

Toph would have none of it; she was scared, tired and not about to let some creep take her back to his room and do who knows what.

With a jerk of her free hand, Toph bought up the earth and sand around them and enclosed the man in a cocoon of dirt, his head sticking out the top. But amazingly, he still had a grip on her wrist. Toph began to squeeze the earth until she felt his grip no more. She yanked her hand away and knew her wrist would be a dark purple blue in a few hours.

Though it did not occur to her to let him free. This man had hurt her, so why shouldn't she hurt him?

But these thoughts came so fast in her tired state of mind; Toph didn't know when to stop hurting the man. Her ears picked up on several crunches that could only be the sounds of bones breaking. The crowd of people had stopped moving and Toph could feel them watching her.

For some reason the man had stopped yelling and screaming. Toph would realize later that this was because he had lost consciousness from a lack of air.

She became distracted from her death grip. Thoughts came into her head. Where was Sokka? Had he left her?

Thinking about these things, made Toph unconsciously tighten her grip on the man, out of anxiety and fear.

* * *

Sokka ran over to the crowd of people. They had stopped moving and for some reason, formed a quiet circle.

Sokka pushed his way through the people, trying to get to the center of the group. He had a sinking feeling in his stomach.

He finally managed to break through and what he saw made him gasp. Toph was standing in front of a man who was entombed in earth. He noted the odd angle of Toph's right wrist and also the fact that the man was unconscious and he had turned blue.

"Toph!" Sokka yelled out to her.

She didn't make any indication of having heard him.

"Toph! You're going to kill him!"

* * *

**Well what will happen now? Find out in the next update. **


	16. Broken

**Thank you for all the reviews of the last chapter. Here is chapter 16. **

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar TLA or its characters; I only own my idea and writing.

**Prison, Rescue and Life **

**Chapter 16**

* * *

Toph turned to face him. Sokka could see the fear in her eyes. She wasn't crazy, like many in the crowd must have thought. She was just a powerful young woman who was frightened.

Sokka took a step forward, his eyes locked to hers. Toph mouthed his name. A few more steps and he was standing next to her. Sokka looked at her toned, muscular arms and saw how her hands clenched.

At that moment, Toph had the power over life and death. She could crush and kill this man in an instant.

But she didn't.

Sokka reached out and gently took her hands, being careful of her bruised wrist. Toph's tense shoulders slackened and he felt her hands open. The sand around the man melted away back into the earth from which it had come.

A man from the crowed ran forward to catch the unconscious figure as he fell to the ground. Many eyes turned to Toph and Sokka, some curious and some angry.

Sokka tilted his head down and whispered into Toph's ear,

"Come on"

Toph's knees bent and she stumbled into him. Sokka gave an apologetic look to the man who looked to be the group guide. The pair then made their way down the street and onto the dirt road that lead to where Appa was.

Sokka glanced back, no one was following them, they where safe for now. He stopped walking. Toph looked up at him. She didn't look scared anymore. But there was a far away look in her eyes.

"May I look at you wrist?" Sokka asked her.

Toph glanced down at her wrist, as if only just noticing it. She lifted it towards him and he gave it a gentle look over.

"Bruised, not broken," He told her, "But try not to move it, it could have been twisted"

She dropped her arm back to where it had been, by her side. They continued walking.

"Well, that didn't go too badly," Sokka commented, referring to the earlier part of the day.

Toph stopped. He turned around to her.

"What?" She asked.

"I was talking about earlier in the day," Sokka tried to explain.

"Oh right, when I clung to your arm and wouldn't leave your side?" She spat out.

"Toph-"

"And when I built up the courage to finally walk on my own, I was swept away by a mass group of people. Then a creepy man grabbed my arm and tried to take me back to his hotel room," she continued, getting louder with each word.

"I-"

"Then I almost killed him and now we probably won't ever be able to visit that market again! Do you call that a good day!" Toph flung her arms out in anger and Sokka cringed as her bruised wrist hit a nearby tree with a sickly crack.

For a moment Toph didn't notice, but then Sokka saw her face contort with pain.

"Toph, I'm sorry. It was a stupid thing to say. You know how I'm like," Sokka tried to apologize.

"Just don't," Toph hissed. She bought her now broken wrist up against her chest and shouldered past him.

Sokka sighed and followed behind her until they arrived back to where Appa was resting.

"Before we leave, at least let me splinter your arm," Sokka pleaded with Toph.

The young woman gave a roll of her eyes and sat down on a nearby boulder.

"Fine," She stated.

Sokka looked around for a straight stick and once this task was achieved he took a roll of bandages out of his bag. _Why do I have so much stuff in here? _Sokka commented to himself.

Toph didn't make a noise as he carefully splintered her arm. But by the look on her face, he knew she wanted to groan from the pain.

"Toph, we all make mistakes," Sokka tried to make her feel better.

She didn't say anything.

"Do you remember that time, we were on a side mission for Zuko and you had to stop me from killing that man?" Sokka prompted.

"I remember. But you were going to kill him out of revenge; he killed one of your solider friends. I was going to kill out of fear," Toph said, "People can't help but kill others out of revenge and hate, but what about out of fear, Sokka? When you about to kill out of fear, most people would know to stop because they had gained control of the situation"

She took a breath that sounded more like a sigh. "But not me"

"Toph, after what you've been through, I wouldn't expect any different"

"But it feels so long since you rescued me. Why can't I adapt back into normal society, Sokka? What's wrong with me?" Her tone of voice made it sound as if she was accusing him. But Sokka let it pass.

"I don't know if you will ever adapt, Toph. What you went through was life changing," Sokka sat down next to her. "Its like after the war, you remember, none of us could settle. We had traveled for so long and lived in constant pursuit, it wasn't surprising. I mean it has taken me four years just to cope with the thought of building myself a permanent home"

"I hate waiting though," Toph grumbled, half to herself.

"I know and that's why you've got me to help you," Sokka smiled at her and after remembering that she couldn't see, pulled her into a hug, being mindful of her arm.

"Let's go home," Toph said.

Sokka nodded

* * *

**Mmm, sorry about the short chapter and nothing much happening. But as usual I wanted to get this last scene out of my head, before moving the story along to the next point.**


	17. Age 17

**So, I know its been ages since my last update on this story. But here is the next chapter. I found the old chapter files on my laptop and read through the story, and caught the Tokka bug…again. **

**Oh btw, I've gone back through the old chapters and changed the amount of time Toph was in prison for, now she was only imprisoned for around 80 days, or 2 and a half months. Also, if your curious as to how long it's been since she was busted out by Sokka, about 115 days or somewhere around 4 months. **

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar TLA or any of its characters. I only own my idea and writing.

**Prison, Rescue and Life. **

**Chapter 16**

* * *

Toph pushed the large bison saddle up the side of the cliff with her bending, it wasn't a massive weight, but it still pained her broken wrist a little. "Got it?" She yelled up to Sokka.

"Yep!" He called down. She felt him haul the mass away from the cliff edge while she bended the next load up. Eventually, everything they had purchased was up by the house and Toph chose to walk up the steps to the top. Sokka met her at the end. Toph felt him put an arm around her shoulders. It was warm and strong, she drew strength from it.

It had been a month since their trip to the market. A month since she'd nearly killed that man. A month since she'd had to question if she would ever be able to function normally in society again. Toph had supposed that if she lived here indefinitely then it wouldn't be a problem. But she was determined to get over her fear. She was Toph Bei Fong, world's greatest earthbender, world's only metalbender, teacher of the Avatar and at only 16 years old, well 17 today. She would not be beaten by something so silly as a fear of crowds.

Sokka's voice brought her out of her thoughts. "Sorry. What?" She asked.

"I was asking if you wanted to start furnishing now, or if we should start tomorrow?"

"Now." She told him.

"Okay, but do you really want to do all this? It is your birthday after all." Sokka said as they walked over to the house.

"Sokka, as far as I'm concerned, having my own custom built and furnished home is going to be the best birthday gift that I've gotten in a _long_time. So I would like to finish this today."

She felt his arm sag a little around her, but in a second it was gone. "Alright, I just don't want you doing too much work, your wrist isn't completely better yet."

"I just earthbended Appa's saddle up the side of a cliff." She said, stopping and placing her hands on her hips. "I think I'll be fine putting mattresses on frames and stowing away cutlery in draws."

Through her feet, Toph could feel the muscles in Sokka's body, right now he was smiling. "What?" She asked.

"Nothing. I just like it when you get all sarcastic and dominant." He said with a chuckle.

Toph blew the hair out of her eyes and shifted her weight. "Humph, well don't expect that to change anytime in the future."

Sokka surprised her by lifting her up and into a hug. For a moment she couldn't see. Then she felt Sokka's lips near her ear. "I wouldn't want it to." He whispered softly.

Toph smiled to herself, before hitting Sokka in the arm. "Warn me before you pick me up! I hate not being able to see."

She heard a deep laugh from him. In response she stomped over to where the piles of house wares were and picked up a box of cups and bowls. She bended the front door open with her foot and walked to the kitchen. Calling to Sokka outside she said, "I don't know why we even bought these, I could have easily made us some."

"I know." He called back, hauling a mattress through the door. "But look at the colours. They match the rugs perfectly!"

Toph suppressed the urge to comment. It wasn't long before they had put everything away. Even though the house didn't really feel much different to her, Toph admitted that it was more comfy to sit on the couch now that it had cushions.

It was late afternoon and she was sitting with Sokka around the back of the home, where the grass was thick and trees were large and tall. Sokka had his back against one such tree and she was leaning into his chest, his legs propped up on either side of her.

"What do you say we leave the guest house till tomorrow?" He proposed. Toph could feel his words vibrating through her back as he spoke.

"Agreed." She said. "It's a pity we have to wait for Katara and Aang to visit before we can get the plumbing working."

Toph felt Sokka shrug. "You get that."

"Mmm."

They sat in silence for a while, the wind flicked the loose strands around Toph's face and ears. On a few occasions Sokka tucked them away and she found her skin tingling a little when his fingers ran along her scalp. After a while he spoke up.

"In the earthkingdom, what age was normal for girls to get married?"

Toph frowned at the slightly odd question. "It depended on the family I guess. Many of the girls were married off as soon as they started to bleed, and could then bare children." She turned her face into the breeze. "If I had still been with my parents I probably would have been fourteen or so."

Sokka didn't say anything. Toph asked him what was wrong. "It's just, that seems so young."

Toph shrugged. "It's what happens. Why? How old are girls in the water tribes when they become betrothed?"

"Well, because not as many children survive to adulthood, especially in the southern water tribe, girls usually waited till they were at least seventeen or eighteen."

"Because…?"

"At that age, there's a higher survival rate for child birth, for both the mother and the child." He explained.

"Makes sense I guess."

"Yeah." Sokka coughed, "So, anything else you'd like to do today birthday girl?"

"Not really, I like sitting here." She said, trying to keep disappointment out of her voice. Sokka hadn't given her a present yet. She wasn't petty like that, he didn't _have_ to get her something, but it's just that he had every other year and she thought that now they were…well together, he would have surprised her with a gift. _Maybe__he__will_, she thought. After all it was only late afternoon. In the meantime she'd just have to make some of her own wishes come true.

* * *

Sokka ran his hands up and down Toph's arms, being mindful of the splint on her wrist. He marveled at how well she fitted against him, the curve of her back on his chest, her hands in his. He traced the pale skin on her forearms, they were so soft and smooth. Sokka new that the rest of her body was just the same, well, except for the scars. He leant his head forwards and placed his lips to the top of her head, breathing in her earthy smell.

He saw Toph smile at his actions. Spirits, he loved that smile. He wanted to see it everyday till he died. _This__moment__is__perfect_, he thought. He had a home, land and the most amazing woman on earth snuggled up against him.

Suddenly Toph turned around so that she was facing him, her knees bent underneath her. Confused, Sokka asked her what she was doing. His breath hitched as she placed two fingers on his lips.

"Shh. It's my birthday, I can do what I like. How long has it been since I've felt you face?"

"…Not since before Aang and Katara's engagement." He replied, under her fingers, not really sure if he had permission to speak.

"The rest of your body has changed since then. I can feel muscle size and movement with my earthsight, but not skin or features. You're taller, with broader shoulders," She placed her other hand on his cheek, "more muscle in your arms and legs."

"I-I uh. I c-changed my training a little." He stammered as her delicate fingers traced his jaw line.

"Mhmm." He watched her lips turn up as she rubbed his stubble. "Going for the rugged, handsome look are we?"

He didn't have time to answer before she was running her fingers over his lips and down his nose. She slowly outlined his eyes and his brow, before burying her hands in his hair. He gasped as she gripped the back of his neck and inched her face closer to his. "Stubble. More prominent brow and cheekbones. Long lashes. Laugh lines starting around your eyes. Hair grown out to your shoulders, small, beaded plait on the right side." He watched as she used her tongue to wet her lips. He swallowed. "And very kissable lips." She finished before bringing herself down on him.

Sokka was surprised for a moment, but it was only a second before he had a hand on her waist and one at her cheek. Toph smiled into the kiss at his touch and he pulled her closer. It became more passionate and fevered with each passing second. Sokka ran his tongue along her bottom lip, asking for permission. She gave a low moan and opened up to him. They explored each others mouths and Toph used her hands to open the top of his tunic. Her touch felt like fire against his chest. His grip tightened on her waist and the hand that had been on her cheek moved to the hem of her shirt. He lifted it and ran his fingers along the skin on her stomach, making her arch towards him. Sokka gave a growl and wrapped his legs around her back, bringing their bodies even closer. He felt like his lungs were going to burst, but he couldn't bring himself to break away.

Toph pulled away, breathing hard. "You've turned out pretty good looking, Sokka." She spoke softly.

He smiled and drew a line of kisses along her jaw, earning him a mewing sound from Toph. "You not to bad yourself."

"Yeah?" She asked. Her change of tone made Sokka stop and look back at her face. He knew that expression, she was thinking about prison. Toph's hand moved from his chest and ran lightly over her own clothing, just on her stomach, right where her scar would be. Sokka encased her hand with his to stop her, he cupped her cheek with the other.

"Toph, listen to me. You are beautiful, okay? And I love every single thing about you." He felt the pressure increase in his palm as she leaned into him. "Our scars and our memories are what make us who we are. And you, you're just…amazing! And I-I couldn't imagine what my life would be like with out you."

She smiled, a single tear running down her cheek and on to the top of his hand. "You'd probably be dead, I've saved your ass that many times." She said, with her old confidence.

Sokka laughed and circled his arms around her. Toph responded in kind and they sat there for another few minutes, simply embracing each other. Sokka spoke after a while. "You know, I could get used to those kisses."

Toph gave him a good punch.

* * *

**Oh me, oh my, I had never thought that I would write another chapter to this story. If anyone reads it then I will be amazed at your ability to keep up with me this long. **

**Please R&R. I love you all and I'm so sorry about my pathetically long intervals between updates on all my stories.**


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